Reality Check
by lani-haluki
Summary: After Secret Origins, Nobody defeated Bethany, successfully separating her fictional and nonfictional selves. Unfortunately, all memories of book-jumping in the past years are gone. Three years later, strange events begin ever since she gets that book, Pick The Plot, where the main character knows her name, and a new student arrives at her school, claiming he's fictional.
1. Three Years Later

**A/N - Hi! This is my third fanfic and I really wanted to write something long for story thieves, because it's one of my favorite book series and I got this great AU idea for it!** **Before you read, here's just a recap of what this story is about:**

 **This takes place three years after Bethany is separated into her two halves. It's like an alternive thing for Worlds Apart, basically the "What if Bethany never rejoined herself" idea. This story is split into three storylines. The first is Bethany's. Once she was separated, neither her fictional or nonfictional selves remember anything about her half-fictional life. As you read further, you'll see who she might remember and who she might not. And you'll see if she ever ends up rejoining her fictional and nonfictional halves. It's written mostly in her nonfictional self's POV.**

 **The next character I write about is Owen. He's still stuck in the Pick The Plot book, and he never escaped. I originally started this story before I had read Pick The Plot, so when I'm writing in his POV the story will be a bit different.**

 **The last main character is Kiel. He's figuring out life in Magisteria and he's basically just trying to learn magic again and discovering himself as a person. That is, until the fictional world is threatened by Nobody and he finds out some important things he's been missing out on.**

 **Also I like the way that music can go hand in hand with writing and there were so many songs that reminded me of specific scenes and characters that I decided that each of my chapters will have a theme song at the beginning. Each song will match directly with how the chapter feels. I definitely encourage you to listen to the songs either before or after reading, but you don't need to listen if you don't want to.  
**

 ** _New Person, Same Old Mistakes (by Tame Impala)_**

 _"Feel like a brand new person, but you make the same old mistakes . . ."_

* * *

"Bethany . . . earth to Bethany . . ."

A voice echoed in fifteen year-old Bethany Sanderson's head, repeating the same words over and over. It was tempting to snap out of her daze, but she didn't give in until another sharp noise jolted her awake. Her eyes flew open and she sat up abruptly in her desk, blinking the sleep out of her eyes.

"Bethany!" her English teacher, Mr. Tompkins scolded. Although he seemed annoyed, there was the hint of an undeniably amused look on his face. "Taking a snooze?"

The class giggled. Bethany lifted her hand to wipe her mouth where some droll had formed. A sick feeling grew in the pit of her stomach, causing her palms to sweat and body to overheat. Flushing, she met the eyes of her teacher with an apologetic look. "S-Sorry," Bethany said. She straightened herself up, exchanging looks with her laughing classmates. It wasn't the first time she'd fallen asleep in class. In fact, she had done it numerous times throughout her life, but not as much as she used to. It wasn't her fault she liked reading late at night, was it?

"You didn't strike me as a droller," a popular and very obnoxious boy, Ross Clarke, said. Bethany despised him, and she had a good reason for it. Once, she caught him ripping pages out of books in the school library to get on the librarian's nerves. According to her, something was deeply wrong with him. She gave him a smoldering glare. It did little but make her classmates laugh more. _Ugh._

"Turn to chapter five," Mr. Tompkins said, drawling the attention of the students back to him. "We'll now discuss the patterns between man and monster as the creature is introduced to the story."

Trying very hard to ignore the glances her classmates stole, she opened her book, _Frankenstein_ , to the correct page and followed along with the class.

* * *

"You have to admit, it was hilarious," Bethany's best friend, Liz, said.

Liz had been held back a year in kindergarten, making her one of the eldest kids in the tenth grade, as she would be turning seventeen in April. Bethany and her had become friends in freshman year, and they both shared an equal love for books. Despite that one similarity, however, their personalities were completely different. Bethany found herself often surprised that her only friend in the world was a bubbly, hopeless romantic girl. She was the exact opposite of that.

Bethany lightly punched her in the arm, trying not to smile. "It wasn't hilarious. It was embarrassing!"

Her friend snorted. "You should be used to it by now. You always fall asleep when we read _Frankenstein_. And you're like, way more obsessed with books than me. You shouldn't be falling asleep at all!"

She rolled her eyes, a grin forming on her face as she hitched her backpack up higher on her shoulders. "What's not to be bored about it?"

Walking to the library was a common hobby they'd both gotten used to. Bethany had always had an intense, undying love for books, so when she and Liz met, it was destiny. Liz loved reading (not as much compared to Bethany, however), and was at the library as often as Bethany. They normally walked there after school to do homework. Needless to say, it was Bethany's favorite part of the day.

The walk was short. When they reached the library, the friends rushed over to their usual table by the fantasy section and got to work. Bethany started immediately on her English essay, one she knew she would suffer from because of her lack of attention skills. They walked over to the computers and sat down, taking out their homework. Bethany opened a blank file on the computer and wasted no time in beginning the dreadful paper. Essays based on books weren't her strong suite, despite the fact that she spent her life reading them. An essay on Harry Potter? Easy. But an essay for school? She genuinely enjoyed schoolwork, but it wasn't what she preferred.

Pressing her fingers into the keyboard, Bethany began to type. Soon, her mind was again a blank canvas, refusing to think beyond the box. Staring at the words she had written so far, Bethany bit her lip and sat back a few feet from the computer to stare at it's entirety. She knew she likely would finish it tonight, but with the way her brain was working, it would take much longer than she'd hoped.

After another moment of inspiration, she leaned forward, placing a finger on the keyboard again. The words came fast, then, like the plummeting waves over a waterfall. Seizing the opportunity, Bethany deleted what she'd written and let everything come naturally. The best writers, she figured, never thought too hard when they wrote.

It only took Liz about an hour to finish her's, probably because she had a better concept about _Frankenstein_. She placed her folders back in her bag and zipped it up. "See you tomorrow."

"But it's Friday!" Bethany said in alarm, her eyes snapping up. She glanced over at her friend, her eyebrows scrunching. "It _is_ Friday, isn't it?"

Liz nodded. "Yeah. But I'm still seeing you tomorrow morning for the school book club meeting."

The redheaded girl groaned. She'd forgotten about that. When she signed herself up for the school book club, she didn't believe it when they said weekend meetings every Saturday morning were mandatory. Saturday was supposed to be about relaxing and taking it easy, not about going back to school. "I completely forgot. I wanted to sleep in!"

Her friend smiled, shaking her head in dismay. She started towards the sliding doors at the front of the library. "Don't we all? Bye!"

"Bye!" Bethany replied, her smile quickly fading alway. She stared hard at the computer, typing what came to her and scanning through the book as she did so. When the five-page paper was all said and done, the fifteen year-old girl sighed and slumped back into her chair, utterly exhausted. She glanced around the library, taking in it's tall walls and orange carpet, and all of the bookshelves that lined the room. Only a few people were like her who came here at night, but now it was quiet and empty, not a person to be seen. It was mostly crowded when the weekend hit.

She turned back to the computer and printed the essay out, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for the essay to finish printing out. The printer slowly spit out the paper, making beeping noises as it did so. Finally, the essay finished printing, and Bethany scooped it up into a stack, placing it into her folder.

"Done your work?"

Bethany jumped. She whipped around, only to see that the librarian, Ms. Conners, had approached her. She'd been so lost in thought she hadn't noticed anyone sneaking up on her. She pressed a hand to her chest and let out a nervous laugh. "Oh. You scared me."

Ms. Conners laughed, rubbing her face with her knuckles. When she pulled away, her eyes looked bloodshot. "That's quite alright, Bethany. I was just seeing how your work load was going."

"It went good. I just finished." Bethany gave her a half-hearted smile. There was something strange about the way Ms. Conners held herself. Her light-colored hair was messy and unkempt, and there were heavy bags under her eyes. It looked as if she'd been crying.

"Are you okay?" Bethany asked, hesitantly picking up her backpack.

The librarian blinked. "I'm alright. It's just the three-year anniversary of . . . well, never mind."

Curiosity burned in Bethany's veins. She felt bad for asking, but now she was intrigued. What could make sweet Ms. Conners so upset? It seemed like she was always in a good mood. "Anniversary of . . . ?"

Ms. Conners let out a deep sigh, her breath hitching. "My son. I-well . . . my son ran away about three years ago. I don't know where he is — or if he's—" She looked as if she wanted to say more but cut herself off, her face constricting with emotions that she couldn't express. She blinked a few times, as if fighting back tears.

Bethany gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry. I don't remember talking much to your son. His name is Owen, right?"

A flicker of a smile appeared on the librarian's face. "Yes. O-Owen. You two were good friends when you were twelve. I'm glad he had such good friends like you and that other boy."

Bethany frowned, feeling confused. She didn't recall ever being friends with Owen, although she did remember him being in her sixth grade math class, which was taught by Mr. Barberry. She didn't remember much about the one or two conversations they'd had together, but for some reason, thinking about him put a warm feeling in her chest. She couldn't identify or explain why.

"Friends with _me_? We weren't friends," Bethany said. "You're probably thinking of someone else. Either way, I'm really sorry. It would be hard to loose someone like that, and not know where they are."

For some reason, saying this brought another emotion bubbling to the surface. It was a yearning, a pining for a lost presence, or a something, or a _someone_. The only person she ever recalled losing was her father. Back then, she had been four years old, about to turn five. His death had been sudden. One moment, he was laughing and watching Bethany open present after present alongside her friends. And the next, her father was being rushed to the hospital.

The librarian shook her head, bringing Bethany back to the present moment. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Bethany. A-Anyways, I'll leave you to it. Lights will be turning out in about an hour."

She nodded. Ms. Conners strode off, curling her arms around herself and walking in a daze. Bethany briefly wondered if the librarian had a husband. Her own mother wasn't married anymore. After her father died, that was that. Her mother never wanted to remarry. She never seemed to get over him.

Bethany stood up, silently walking through the shelves and shelves of books. Being here around books brought a sensation of tranquillity, and she had no idea why. She'd always been drawn to books. They were the reason she still dreamed at night. Reading books distracted her from the issues of the real world, and she was fine with that. Books were her favorite kind of escape. They helped with almost everything.

She stopped at her favorite isle, one that held fantasies beyond compare. Looking around, she noticed that she'd read the majority of them. Her mom wasn't enthusiastic about her love for reading, but she gradually accepted it, making Bethany promise that she wouldn't do anything reckless. Bethany didn't know what she meant by that; reading was probably the safest hobby in the world.

Bethany walked along the isle, running her hand along the rows and rows of books sitting on the shelves. Her hand finally stopped at one, with a particularly intriguing title that jumped out to her, begging her to read it. She plucked it off the shelf and stared down at the cover, admiring the artwork. She loved looking at the front cover, because it often told a story. On it, a white-haired woman in dark robes stretched out her hand, a hard expression on her face. In front of her, a girl with short pink hair held onto a terrified-looking boy, attempting to save him from being eaten by the gigantic T-Rex in his wake.

Her eyes fluttered to the title, which was in big bold letters. " _Story Thieves_ . . ."

Underneath were smaller yellow letters, meaning this book was a series. It'd been so long since she'd found a series worthy of her liking. She often reread books like _The Little Prince_ , which was her favorite book of all time. It might've been more of a children's book, but she didn't mind. That one had always been her favorite. Now that she held this new book in her hands, she wondered if _Story Thieves_ could give _The Little Prince_ a run for it's money. A satisfied smile poured over her face.

She looked back at the boy on the cover. Strangely, he looked familiar. Even stranger, he looked a lot like Owen Conners from her sixth grade math class. She shook off the weird similarity and opened the book to the front page, where it showed the book had come out about three years ago. It was weird that she'd never seen it here before. Easily, it was the longest book she'd ever seen. It was around nine-hundred pages, just the kind of book Bethany could get lost in.

" _Pick The Plot_ ," she read aloud, her eyes drifting to the words that followed the main title. She was going to enjoy this.

* * *

 _"I know there's too much at stake, making the same mistakes, and I still don't know why it's happening. Stop before it's too late . . ."_


	2. Lost In Time

_**Resistance (by Skillet)**_

 _"Heart is beating faster, feels like thunder. Magic, static, call me a fanatic. It's our world, they can never have it . . ."_

* * *

It was in the dark of night, hidden by a fort of blankets, where Bethany began to read. With the light of a flashlight, a glow illuminated off of the book, causing the words to look like they would jump out at her. This would be a long, long night of reading.

Opening the first page, the first three words were "Oh no, oh no, oh no!"

Thrilled, Bethany began to read.

* * *

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Owen screamed, his back roughly hitting the solid earth. The world surrounding him represented a jungle, and the air was moist and cool. Despite the cool temperature, Owen was sweating all over. As he shakily got to his feet, he took in his new surroundings, his face a look of pure panic. He mumbled words over and over, desperetly trying to convince himself that this was all a dream. It had to be a dream. It _had_ to be. Nobody was only bluffing about imprisoning him in a book, right? If he wasn't bluffing, that meant . . .

That meant this jungle was real, not just conjured up in Owen's imagination. It felt too real to be a dream. So where had Nobody sent him? Where _was_ he?

WHAT PATH WOULD YOU LIKE FOR OWEN?

Dinosaur attack.

Fall into quicksand.

Obtain poison ivy.

"This isn't good," he whispered. Then, a roar echoed across the jungle, and loud footfalls shook the earth. His heart rate sped up quite quickly at the sound, but with the bad chain of events that he'd recently gone through, he wasn't very surprised.

"Dinosaurs?" Owen cried, looking up to the sky. He couldn't help but think that the first reader had begun to shape his life here. He didn't know if there was anything he could do to prevent it now, but he could try.

Unfortunately, the dinosaur heard his cry. It raced through the bush and appeared in between two tall trees, causing them to crack in half and fall to the ground. It was a gigantic T-Rex, with arms the size of Owen and huge, sharp teeth. Fresh blood dripped from its mouth, but that didn't mean it wasn't ready for lunch. It slowly advanced on the boy; it's feet soundly pounded the earth.

Owen backed away, trying not to loose his footing. Running away from the dinosaur would only make his death quicker. He nearly tripped into a hole but held himself steady, keeping his eyes even with the T-Rex.

The dinosaur advanced towards him, licking it's chops. It's beady black eyes bore into Owen's, hungry and venomous. It snarled softly, searching for the best way to catch it's meal.

Owen continued to back away, holding his hands behind him to navigate through the trees. He never tore his gaze away from the T-Rex, for he was afraid it would lunge the minute he looked away. He edged deeper into the jungle until he could no longer see the hungry dinosaur. He turned around and dashed for some form of escape.

With an angry roar, the T-Rex began to run after him. The pounding of it's feet were heavy enough to shatter the earth, but somehow Owen stayed balanced. He raced through the bush, ducking low over branches and jumping high over rocks. The journey seemed endless, and the jungle seemed to go on forever.

Behind him, the T-Rex was gaining speed. The boy was no match for one very large, hungry dinosaur, and it reached him with ease. Startled and even more fearful, Owen tried to ignore the pain in his legs and pushed further. In his wake, the dinosaur knocked down dozens of trees, and soon the rocking of the ground was too much for the boy. He lost his footing and stumbled, falling straight into a clearing.

But Owen had no time to look at his new surroundings. The dinosaur loomed over the boy, barring it's gigantic teeth and roaring down at him. In one swift move, the T-Rex lunged for Owen, it's mouth opening wide.

With a terrified yell, Owen rolled over and made a run for it while the dinosaur was distracted. His eyes darted around the clearing. There was a huge ravine sitting before him, and a treacherous river lay seventy feet below. Across from the gorge were a few dozen buildings that looked like something out of Jurassic park. Separating that and Owen was a rope bridge that allowed access across the ravine.

Wasting no time, the boy started across the bridge. It swung and creaked, looking as though it might break at any moment. Owen placed another foot on the next step, cringing as the bridge groaned.

At that moment, the T-Rex regained it's sense and unleashed an earth-shattering roar. It ran to him, prepared to do anything to get it's meal.

Owen wanted to shout at it, to slice it down and bring it to it's death, but his body felt heavy, and he was tired and dizzy and sore, and his small fists were no match for the gigantic T-Rex. So he ran.

He fled across the bridge, cringing and cursing as it creaked loudly. His next step caused two of the floorboards to break and fall soundly into the river. Owen gulped and looked back, but it was too late. The dinosaur jumped towards him in a wild attempt to catch him.

Unfortunately for both Owen and the T-Rex, the bridge went down. The T-Rex wailed as it fell with the rest of the bridge, making a big splash in the river. Owen yelled as he began to fall to his death, wildly clutching at the air. Suddenly, he stopped falling.

Gasping in confusion, Owen opened his eyes to see the hood of his sweatshirt had gotten caught on a floorboard. The part of the bridge that hadn't been cut off was still connected to the other side of the gorge. Laughing breathlessly at his luck, Owen shakily climbed the connected floorboards until he reached the top. He pulled himself up onto the grass and kicked away from the edge, hoping to never fall into it again.

He stood up, his legs wobbling and hands shaking. Turning around, he found himself surrounded by a group of adults, age ranging from twenty to fifty. But before he could say anything, something sharp pricked the side of his leg. He cried out and fell to the ground, suddenly unable to move. Hands grabbed him, lifting him up and carrying him inside their premises. He heard conversation between the strange people, but couldn't detect what they were saying.

In his fading effort to stay conscious, he sputtered out one name that was the centerpiece of all his worry, which had been constantly in the back of his mind all day.

"Bethany!"

* * *

Bethany shut the book. Her heart was fluttering with anticipation with every word that drew her in. She felt like she was being absorbed into the book, connecting instantly with the story it told. It was action-packed and kept her light on her feet. It made her both fearful and excited for what was to come next. Every word was laced with mystery, every syllable dripping with adventure, and every sentence ending in a cliffhanger. Would the boy survive? Would he die? She could hardly wait to find out.

But now, her heart was pounding not out of excitement, but out of horror. The main character —Owen— said her name! Her's! She knew it was most likely coincidence, but it was almost eerie how everything seemed all too familiar. First, the boy on the cover seemed familiar. He looked like that boy from her math class, who's name was also Owen. That part was probably was strangest of all. She knew that she could recognize him from anywhere. He was unforgettable . . . except he was only a fictional character.

Then again, he had said her name. What fictional character was named Bethany? It was so strange how it felt like destiny when she found this book . . . only to be given the surprise that one of the character's names was Bethany.

Wiping the sweat off her forehead, Bethany sighed and set the book on her nightstand. She sounded crazy. Fictional people simply weren't real. Neither did they bear any connection to real people.

So even with these unsettling thoughts, she managed to close her eyes and embrace the quietness of her house. With one last look at the mysterious book, Bethany curled into her blankets and slowly drifted off to sleep, which brought dreams of boy magicians, evil villians, and best friends named Owen.

* * *

It was dawn, and Bethany had just woken up, much earlier than she had before. For now, something was keeping her from her slumber. She gazed about the dark room, where the first of the sun's rays would begin to shine through the curtained window of her bedroom. With a faint smile that was worn mostly in solitude, she looked, one by one, at her many books stacked along her shelf.

They had always brought her a sort of certainty, knowing that there were worlds hidden in those pages. No matter the book she read, they always told a story. She knew she would not always have the luxury of reading whenever she liked. With every year of school, more work was pushed towards the students, and Bethany found herself reading a bit less than she would like. But, oh well. She could reread them all if she wanted.

Then, a thought came to her, and she automatically reached for the book on her bedside table, Story Thieves: Pick The Plot.

"Wait . . . what am I doing?" Bethany whispered to herself. The sun hadn't even risen yet. She could gladly wait until morning . . . yet something stopped her from refusing. She felt the dire need to read this book and learn what happens to Owen, no matter how long it took. She'd never felt this sort of determination to finish a book, but embraced it. Sure, the main character had called out her name, but that was not a reason to get stupidly frightened over nothing.

Both frustrated at herself for getting worried over nothing and feeling the need to read her new book, Bethany opened the book to it's marked page and continued to read.

* * *

"Gah!"

When Owen opened his eyes, it was when a bucket of cold water had been thrown on him, drenching his hair and clothes. He sprang upright, sputtering and gasping as he adjusted to his new surroundings. It looked like he was in a laboratory. The walls were a plain gray, with various locked doors stationed everywhere, and labeled things like "airlock" and "fuel room". Rooms that resembled jail cells were all along the hallway, which was what Owen currently resided in. The cell was simple enough, with a small bed, sink, toilet, chair, and window. Next to the door was a man in an orange jumpsuit, holding a now empty bucket and looking quite intimidating.

"Ah, I see you're awake now, stranger. That sleep dart was good for knocking you out, but it was taking long, and we are all impatient for answers," said the man, setting down the bucket on the floor. "So tell me, boy, state your reasoning for recklessly wandering the jungle. Planning to hunt down and single-handedly kill a dino on your own? Without a squad?"

Owen blinked. "Excuse me? I don't live here. I have never even seen a dinosaur until today, and I didn't choose to almost become that thing's lunch. I was running from it, and then I made it across the bridge and found you guys. But before I could get help, you kindly decided to blow dart me."

The man narrowed his eyes, crossing his buff arms around his chest. Owen noticed that the man was wearing a bright orange jumpsuit, labeled TSA in small letters at the right hand corner. "Wherever you came from, you're an idiot for coming here. You're lucky we decided to let you live. Most of my crew thought you'd be useless as an inexperienced member. I said we could benefit from training someone from the outside. I better be right, or else you and I will not be on good terms."

"Uh huh," Owen replied. "Is there a way, you know, out of this realm? This might sound crazy but I need to save my friend Bethany, a girl who can travel between realms. I won't be any trouble if you show me the way out."

The man stared hard at him, taking a step closer. "I don't know what all in your head, boy, but you better be smart and lose the realm talk. There is no way outta here. This prison is for time criminals, and no one can afford to break out and mess up the universe more than it already has been. There is high security, and no way of getting out of the agency unless with a hunting squad. Like it or not, you're with us now. No way around it. You go out there? You get eaten by dinos. Now get changed into that jumpsuit on your bed and join everyone in thirty minutes for dinner. Make some friends, because you'll be stayin' here for the rest of your life. Well, until you get fed to the dinos."

With that, the man left without even introducing himself or asking Owen his name. He guessed it didn't matter. He would learn everyone's names eventually here. Well, that depended how long he stayed. Could he escape somehow and get back to Bethany before the worst occurred? He would do everything in his power to stop Nobody and defeat him once and for all. He was not the same boy that he was a few months ago. He felt different, older almost, and definitely braver. He had to save Bethany. Just like that Star Wars quote: he was her only hope.

Mentally, he cursed himself for not learning some jailbreak tricks from Moira. If anyone could escape from jail, it would be her.

"God, how am I going to escape this prison?" he muttered angrily, kicking his shoe hard against the gray stone floor.

"There's no way out," said a girl's voice. Owen jumped. "Who's there?"

"It's me, Kara!" the girl replied. "You don't recognize me?"

He looked to the right to find that a small section of the prison cell next to him was connected to his. He hadn't noticed before. Walking over, he saw a girl sitting cross-legged on the ground. She wore the same orange jumpsuit as everyone else, and had short pink hair. She looked about his age, and she was really pretty.

"Um, I don't, sorry," Owen told her. "I'm Owen."

"I know you're Owen," she said, smiling a little as if he'd just told her a joke. "I think the most important question is: what are you _doing_ here? I thought I told you not to come here."

He frowned. "What?"

"I left you a note, remember? It's safer for me to be here," the girl said, slowly standing up. "I really don't get why you came. You've only gotten yourself trapped here, just like the rest of us."

"Right," Owen replied, feeling immensely confused. "Well, now that I came, I guess I'll . . . um, _leave_ , if you could show me the way out?" Yes, that sounded good.

Kara frowned, realization dawning on her face. "Wait . . . you don't know who I am, do you?"

Slowly, he shook his head, giving her a guilty smile.

"That actually makes a lot of sense," she said, letting out a breath. "Wow. I could recognize you anywhere, honestly. I guess my time traveling caused us to meet. The first time I met you was in my past, and now the first time you're meeting me is your present."

"Wait, you time travel?" Owen gasped, too confused to acknowledge the other things she said. Kara simply nodded, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You can get me out of here! I've had the _worst_ day. I'm currently trapped inside a book, my best friend will soon be split in half, and now I'm in a prehistoric era, living inside this jail cell."

Kara stared at him, brows furrowed. "Okay, well that sounds like a crazy day. Kind of unbelievable, though. Except that last part, because we really _are_ being held prisoner in the prehistoric era."

Owen shook his head. "It's true! Okay, I get that it sounds crazy, but it's true. I'll explain everything, I swear, but you need to time travel me out of here. If you just put me back in time, that will give me all the time I need to save my friend and escape this book."

"I can't."

"You can't?"

Kara rolled her eyes. "Owen, do you not see the prison we're in? This place is huge, with no way out. Time traveling is only optional for people with a time watch. With the watch, you can easily go back in time. Sadly, all these prisoners, including me, have been stripped of our time watches. Time traveling is not optional unless we escape, which we can't do. Believe me, I've tried once. The only people who get out of here are the dinosaur wranglers and hunters."

"Dinosaur hunters," Owen repeated. "I've heard that before . . . from that really intimidating man who was in my cell a few minutes ago."

"His name is Tobias. We all have to call him 'instructor' and 'sir.' He's one of the instructors of the agency," Kara said, making a face. "Never get on his bad side."

"Trust me, I don't plan to stay long. If we can't time travel out of here, what other ways can I escape?"

"No other way. But if you want to get out of the joint and be outside, you can become a dinosaur wrangler or hunter and explore the jungle, hunting for dinosaurs." Kara looked down, playing with the edge of her sleeve. "The job is dangerous, though. Many people don't come back alive."

"If that's my only way of escape, then so be it," Owen said in a tone that was much braver than he felt. "I have to escape this book before the readers make me get into worse situations than before."

"Book?" Kara asked. "What book? What readers? Is this one of your nonfictional things again?"

Owen sighed apprehensively and walked to his bed, picking up his new bright orange jumpsuit. "I'll tell you the full story . . . maybe tonight or at dinner. But first I'd better get changed into this jumpsuit."

"Ah. I remember when I first tried on that thing. I hated it, and I still do," his neighbor grunted.

He ignored her and changed quickly, setting his dirty sweatshirt, jeans, and socks on the bed, exchanging his white socks for new black ones. His stomach rumbled. Fictional world or not, Owen was hungry. Apparently, he didn't have to wait for dinner long. A ringing sound blared three times across the building, alerting every member that dinner was starting. Every door opened automatically, and Owen stepped out, soon followed by his new friend.

"So," Owen said as they walked side by side through the hall. "What do prisoners do here, exactly? The jobs can't only be dinosaur wrangler and hunter."

"No," Kara agreed, her short hair flying behind her. "There are lists of other jobs you can be assigned to, all which I can't name at the top of my head. First, you have your skills tested with a simulation test. The test will decide your top three job choices, and from there you are free to choose which job you will do. Everyone has to do a job, and we all must work each day for as long as your job requires. Each job is mentored by an instructor, who teaches you the basic skills before sending you on your own."

He groaned. "This'll take up more time than I realized. This entire stupid thing is delaying me from saving Bethany."

She glanced at him. "Bethany? I remember you talking about her. Is she your girlfriend?"

He felt his face go red. How embarrassing. This was even _more_ embarrassing, now that he was trapped in a book with hundreds of people reading. He hoped no one he knew was reading this. "What? _No_! She's my best friend, and she's in danger from this guy named Nobody —"

Kara placed a hand on his shoulder, which felt both comforting and strange at the same time. Her eyes were sympathetic as they stared into his. "Hey, it's okay, Owen. I promise I will try to help you with whatever problem you're fighting. For now, lets get dinner and you can tell me your whole insane story from start to finish."

Just like that, he found himself relaxing. "Okay."

He would find Bethany someday. He felt it in his heart. But for now, he had to fill his empty stomach, prepare for a simulation test, and find out how the heck he was going to escape this place.

* * *

 _"This is how we rise up. It's our resistence, you can't resist us. Are you listening?"_

 **A/N - Ok so basically the only reason this is so different from the actual Pick the Plot book is because I wrote this chapter before I read the actual book, so now I'm just going to continue with my own plot, but I'll still have it loosely based on the book. If you enjoy my story, please don't be afraid to leave an encouraging comment or just any of your thoughts/ideas about this chapter! To the people who have posted reviews - thank you! You all make writing this story worthwhile!**


	3. The Glowing Object

**_The Less I Know The Better (by Tame Impala)_**

 _"I was doing fine without ya, 'til I saw your face, now I can't erase . . ."_

* * *

 **Three Years Ago**

The world had been much quieter since justice had been restored, and Magisteria and Quanterium had found peace in their unity. Ever since magic and science had collided, the people had never felt so whole. Neither side was complete without the other, and neither wanted to be separated by two planets again. They were both learning, and both making new inventions together each day. Well, it was a working progress. Some Magisterians were still anti-Quanterium, and some Quanteriums still despised Magisterians. Somehow, he knew this little kink would be worked out.

Kiel Gnomenfoot spend most of his days huddled in his tower, studying all forms of magic from his new and improved spell book. Some spells were more difficult than others, and required immense concentration and successfully learn and perform them. One particularly difficult spell took nearly two weeks to learn, an extremely exhausting task for the pre-teen boy. Relearning magic was hard, possibly the hardest and most frustrating thing he'd ever had to do. The process was long, and he wanted it to speed up so he could use magic again.

Sighing tiredly, Kiel pushed the chair he'd been sitting in away from his table, standing up and stretching. He'd been doing this for months, ever since he returned from Bethany and Owen's world. Frankly, he wasn't sure how long it'd been since he last was there. He had planned to meet his friends somewhere next time they visited. Where was it? Which part of the planet?

He scratched his head, trying to remember. Knowing him, he most likely had missed it. He was late to nearly everything. He had been in hiding for a while, now, intent on finishing his studies on magic, no matter how many months it took. When he first came back to his world, he immediately sought out a new master. After a week of searching, he found a magician by the name of Abdo, an old man who lived in the countryside. Abdo had studied magic all his life, and was more than eager to teach it to the young boy.

Kiel saw his new master every now and then, as he popped in twice every week. As he got stronger, Abdo showed up less, and said many times he believed Kiel could study magic without his help. Every now and then, he'd take a break and would venture out into the streets of the town nearest him, to make new acquaintances and get fresh air.

Truthfully, it was to deal with the loneliness that sometimes seized him. This was the price he payed for dedicating himself to the study of magic, but being lonely was seldom a problem since he was so busy. While he remained in high spirits, he did miss his best friends, that was for sure. Sometimes, he considered getting in contact with Charm, but he knew she was busy dealing with fame after helping save the world.

So here he stayed, trying to figure out who he was and where he belonged now that his magic was ripped from him.

Walking over to the tower window, he noticed it was beginning to drizzle lightly, and the windowsill was covered in small wet dots. He shrugged and pulled on his boots. A little bit of rain was the least of his problems.

An owl hooted in the distance, it's call echoing over the woods in front of him as Kiel clambered out of his tower. An almost-full moon was shaded by clouds, barely giving him enough light to see by in the vastly darkening environment. The air was a bit chilly, so he'd brought his cloak along and burrowed his hands deep in his pockets. A light rain sprinkled on him as he walked through the familiar path in the woods, where a nearby village he often went to would be waiting at the end of.

He walked at a slightly fast pace, not to keen about getting caught in a rainstorm at night. He could just make out the bright lights inside the houses, which were much more technologically improved now that science had mixed with magic. The fact that the two polar opposites, enemies since the beginning of time, had actually made peace was appalling to Kiel. He didn't know how Charm had done it. Or maybe it wasn't Charm, but he himself. Hadn't he (well, technically Owen) played a part in saving the world?

 _Obviously_ , Kiel thought, shaking his head. Why would he even ask that when he already knew the answer? According to Bethany and Owen, he was much more famous than he believed.

He wondered if he'd ever do something like save the world again, now that he knew the truth about himself, about his world. He was fictional. He wasn't a real person, and never had been. And yet, he felt real, and he had emotions and a life of his own. Was that not real? Even if an author named Jonathan Porterhouse had wrote his story and brought him to life, he still had the same things Owen and Bethany had. He, just like everyone else in his world and other fictional worlds, was real. Maybe not in the eyes of the "readers", but to him, he was.

His breath came in clouds as the rain gradually got heavier, and the air grew colder. He removed his hands from his pockets and hugged himself close, silently wondering if the need to go to town was really worth it anymore. He was about to turn back when he noticed a peculiar light shining in the sky, getting brighter with every second. Transfixed, he watched as it got bigger and bigger, until he was convinced it wasn't a light at all.

Something was coming.

He began to panic at the bright object that came barreling down from the sky, going through a list of spells that might help him. He couldn't think of any strong protection ones that he could cast, not without his spell book close by. He also wasn't as strong as he used to be, and was generally quite weak when performing magic. He raised his hand in front of his face and began to murmur a protection spell, a small one that should keep him safe.

The object got closer, so close he was blinded by the brightness. He raised his other hand to cover his face and made a feeble attempt to run or take cover. The explosion followed a few seconds later, knocking Kiel off his feet and sending him flying into the dirt. He was slumped against a large tree root, breathing heavily feeling nothing but pain rocketing through his body. He heard screams in the distance, and voices calling out in alarm. The damage was over, and Kiel felt lucky that the glowing object hadn't killed everyone in the countryside.

Struggling to get up, he brushed the dirt off his sleeves and ignored the pounding in his head and ringing of his ears. He put a hand against the nearby tree for support and slowly stood, head spinning as he took in his surroundings. Not too far away, he saw people from the village running into the woods to see what had fallen from the sky. Kiel silently shuffled back onto the path and noticed the glowing light was gone, so he followed the direction of where he assumed the object had landed.

A dozen thoughts went through his head. It couldn't have been a bomb, because if it was everyone would be dead. But what had enough impact to cause an explosion? Was it a meteorite, like the ones he'd seen in space before? Owen told him about meteorites once, and explained a few had collided into the moons surface, which is why it looks dented. He thought hard about this. While it could be a meteorite, why was it glowing so brightly? He'd never seen anything that glowed so bright, but was convinced it must've been some magic spell gone wrong.

Kiel continued on, noticing the villagers were going in a different direction than him, given the fact that they didn't see where the glowing object landed in the first place. Despite the situation, he grinned, and hurried at a faster pace down the path. The fact that no one else but him would discover this dangerous thing that fell from the sky was enough to get him excited about finding it. He kept walking, noticing out of the corner of his eye a fading light in the distance, deep in the woods. Casting one last look over his shoulder, Kiel stepped off the path.

As he walked, he had to be more careful about where he stepped. Chunks of tree branches had fallen after the explosion, and the dirt had become muddy as the rain drenched the landscape. Squinting in the dark, Kiel stepped over every obstacle in his path with ease, despite not being able to see very well. The rain was pouring down harder now, and the boy was both cold and drenched. Sucking in a slow, freezing breath, Kiel realized the glowing light was much closer than before. Shivering, he kept going, not stopping once until he found the object.

A sick feeling grew in his gut. He had trouble ignoring it, but blamed it on the cold and the rain anyway. Nothing bad would happen! He was Kiel Gnomenfoot, and investigating a glowing object that caused an explosion was the safest thing he'd ever done, which was saying plenty. He could see the light now, faint but still glowing ever so slightly in the darkness. Rounding a bend of oak trees, Kiel finally could see the glowing object, and it was much bigger than he'd anticipated. Eyes wide, the boy slowly took a step closer, then another. The glowing object wasn't an object at all. It was —

"Bethany?" Kiel gasped. His voice cracked, but he didn't care, because all he could focus on was the girl lying unconscious on the ground. He rushed to her side and slid onto his knees, placing his hands on her shoulders.

He shook her gently, staring at her with worry. "Bethany? Can you hear me?"

His friend didn't move, and looked to be unconscious, or maybe even dead. Her body was still glowing faintly, illuminating her skin with a strange pale texture. Her face looked ashen. Her hair didn't seem as vibrant of a red as it used to be. Even the color of her clothes were faded and run-down. Nothing was right.

He shook Bethany again, hoping to rouse her but failing again. With chattering teeth, he looked to his right, then his left, for anyone that could help him. There was no one around, and the air seemed the be getting colder by the minute. The rain fell into a steady downpour, drenching Kiel and causing him to tremble violently. He looked down at Bethany again, just in time to see the last of the remaining light from her body was fading fast. Seconds later, complete darkness enveloped him. Kiel clenched his teeth. She needed help.

"H-Help!" Kiel shouted, feeling lame at the sound of his shaking voice. He felt so, so cold. The rain was relentless and it sent a wet chill through his body.

Inhaling slowly, he closed his eyes and tried to make himself stop shaking so he could concentrate on a spell. As he recited the lines of the spell, he imagined warmth and light forming in his hands, spreading throughout his entire body like a tidal wave. At an agonizingly slow pace, he felt the chill from his body wash away as warmth radiated from his head to his toes. When he opened his eyes, he noticed a glowing light radiating from his body, and smiled in triumph.

Now able to see and move without the overbearing darkness and cold, Kiel slid his hands under Bethany's lifeless form, struggling for a bit to stand. When he finally got a good grip on her, he began the long walk back to the path. Supporting both her weight and the spell was exhausting, and he felt himself growing weaker with every step he took. He forced himself to keep going so he could bring her to shelter, to a safe place where he could know she would be okay. The last thing he was going to do was give up because of his weariness.

This determination helped, but not for long. Kiel was close to the path when he wasn't able to hold his spell any longer. He'd never had to hold one this long, but now that he had he felt as if all the energy had been zapped from him. The light from his body slowly faded into nothingness, causing him to trip into an unseen tree branch. He lost his grip on Bethany, and he fell. Where he fell, he wasn't sure, but he couldn't fight the exhaustion any longer. As coldness seeped back into his body, and heavy rain poured relentlessly on him, all Kiel wanted was sleep. He stared into the darkness, and the sick feeling in his gut returned.

He could feel the threshold shift.

The link between fictional and non-fictional worlds was gone. The gate was closed.

* * *

 _"She said it's not know or never, waiting years we'll be together. I said better late than never. Just don't make me wait forever . . ."_


	4. Reminiscence

**_Pumped Up Kicks (by Foster The People)_**

 _"All the other kids with the pumped up kicks. You'd better run, better run, out run my gun . . ."_

* * *

 **Three Years Ago**

Everything was a dizzy, swirling mass of dark brown. The first thing she noticed as her vision came into focus was the corner of a table. It looked like it'd been carved from wood, and there was a clay cup of water sitting on it. The blurriness slowly went away, and she noticed several blurry figures situated around it, all sitting in chairs. There was a heavy, warm blanket on top of her, and it felt like it was suffocating her entire body with its heat. Blinking in confusion, she moved her head to the side and noticed it was held in place. No matter how hard she fought against it, whatever was holding her head wouldn't let go.

She felt dizzy, and the room wouldn't stop spinning. Her arms and legs felt weak. As the grogginess began to fade away, she looked at the faces of the figures. They were complete strangers. Eyes widening, she began to thrash around, trying to escape from this contraption. The effort was exhausting, however, and she felt as though she'd just run a marathon. Panic settled in and her heartbeat quickened. She had to get out of here.

She continued to fight, and a woman stood up, yelling for the others to help her. "Calm her down!"

"N-No, no, n—no" she stuttered, her words slurring as she struggled against her bonds. The woman put an arm on her shoulder, while two men grabbed her flailing arms. "No! NO!"

"Calm down! Calm down!" The man to her left shouted at her, which only made her fight harder. She tried throwing her head up again, which only resulted in pain. She kicked the blanket off and managed to kick one of the men in the stomach, who grunted and held her tighter.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a long, thin tube linked to her forehead. She ripped it out with her free hand, wincing at the burning sensation that filled her entire head. She was dimly aware of the blood beginning to pool on her forehead. The woman moved to hold her arms down, which gave her the opportunity to free her head of the contraption and hit the woman hard in the shoulder. Not prepared for the sudden impact, the woman toppled over. She moved to fight the other men off, but they were quick to hold her back down.

"No!" she cried angrily, staring the men in the face.

"Stop fighting!" the man to her right said. "Calm down! We won't hurt you."

She ignored him, kicking and punching with all her might against the men.

"Hey, boy! You have to calm her down!" the woman called, hurrying into a doorway she hadn't seen until now.

"I'm coming!" a voice replied, and a boy rushed into the room, skidding to a stop as his eyes locked with her's. "Bethany! You're awake."

"Yeah, she's awake. All she's been giving us is trouble," the man she kicked said, rubbing his stomach.

Bethany stared at Kiel with terrified eyes, and he squeezed in between the strangers and sat on the chair by her side. She looked around at the woman and two men standing around her, who released their grips on her but continued watching her every move warily, as if she'd try to escape again.

"It's okay!" Kiel said enthusiastically, looking down at her with a barely contained grin. "You're safe now. These guys found us out in the storm and saved us."

"Storm?" Bethany parroted, feeling deeply confused about everything that was going on. Why was Kiel here? Where was she? Who were these people? "What storm?"

"It was raining and freezing cold last night," said the woman, straightening her disheveled shirt. "Kiel said he saw you . . . fall from the sky? Was that it?"

Kiel nodded. "There was a glowing light falling from the sky. It crashed in the woods so I went to find it, and instead I found you. I thought you were, um, dead—" He cleared his throat as his voice rose an octave, and she realized suddenly how grave her situation was.

"Josef, here —" the woman said, gesturing to the shaggy-haired man who Bethany had kicked. "— found you two unconscious while on a late night walk. You both would've froze to death if he hadn't saved you."

Bethany looked at the strangers around her with a newfound appreciation, feeling her heartbeat slowly return to normal. She felt embarrassed having made such a big scene, although they had seemed like people holding her captive at the time.

"I was unconscious?" she mumbled, her head pounding.

"Yeah," said the other man next to Josef. "We have a lot of questions, which we couldn't have answered until you woke up. We're all very curious to hear your . . . story."

Frowning, she looked at Kiel, who's eyes held the same questions as the others. The only problem was . . . she couldn't seem to think of the answer.

"You need to rest more," said the woman, gently pushing Bethany back onto the bed. Feeling overwhelmingly exhausted, she obeyed, allowing them to put the thick blanket back on her. She assumed it was there to keep her body temperature heated, since the man had said they almost "froze to death".

Josef picked up the head contraption (which turned out to be an assortment of wires and a small plastic headpiece), and fit it back on her scalp; as he did so, the women wiped the blood from Bethany's forehead and stuck the needle back in her skin.

"Don't move," Josef warned with a slightly teasing tone, offering her a friendly smile.

She rolled her eyes. _Now_ she wouldn't.

"Go to sleep,"!the woman ordered in a stern tone. "You look better than before, but you don't look . . . right."

Bethany furrowed her brows, another wave of tired confusion hitting her. "I don't? Is something wrong?"

She glanced at Kiel, who shrugged. "I also noticed something was wrong right away. You don't look like your normal healthy self."

Just as she began to get even more concerned, he put a hand on her shoulder. "Just — don't worry," he said, forcing a reassuring smile. She stared into his eyes, a million questions in her head. What about this situation wasn't worrying?

"Why not?" Bethany pressed with a frown.

"You're fine," he said, removing his hand. "Everything'll be okay. Once you get sleep we'll figure it out. Then you can jump yourself back home . . . if you want."

"What are you talking about?" she whispered, her eyes half closed.

Kiel continued smiling. "Y'know, use your powers! Which shouldn't be hard once you get better. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen you or Owen in a few months. It's weird not having you guys around."

She stared at him. ". . . Powers? Who's Owen?"

He stared back. "Why are you asking that?"

At Bethany's prolonged confused stare, he sucked in a barely audible gasp. "Oh no. I'll talk to you later, just um, get some rest right now."

What was he talking about? she wondered as he rushed away into the other room. She decided that he must be crazy, because she'd never had powers, and she didn't know anyone named Owen. This was all one huge mass of confusion. It must be a dream, because Kiel being here didn't make any sense.

The only thing that did make sense was that she needed to get home, back to her father. But weirdly, when she thought about her dad, no specific memories came to her. The memories were all just a blur of her exciting childhood, mostly consisting of training alongside him as a superhero. She called herself Twilight Girl, a superhero name she was quite proud of. She picked it out herself when she was eight, when she first got her superhero outfit. It didn't fit her anymore since she'd grown a significant amount, so she had recently gotten a brand new suit when she turned twelve.

Bethany hoped there would be answers to what was going on. She could tell something was wrong by the look on Kiel's face. Something feltwrong, but she figured it was only because of the pain in her head. If it was true that she really had fallen from the sky and looked to be dead, then something was seriously wrong. But she couldn't recall any reason — any memory — that showed an explanation for what had happened to her.

* * *

Kiel was worried.

From the moment he'd heard her say the words—"Who's Owen?"— he knew there was something deeper going on. He had looked into Bethany's eyes for any sign that proved she was joking, but there was only confusion in them. For some reason, she didn't remember Owen, or the very important fact that she was half fictional, half nonfictional, and had the power to jump into books.

He felt glad she remembered him, but then felt a little guilty for feeling glad. Owen was their best friend, and he was the only reason they'd met Kiel. Without him, a lot more problems could've happened, and they wouldn't have survived everything they did. He wondered why Bethany couldn't remember him. Of all the people to forget, why was it him? Had Nobody erased all her memories of the nonfictional world? No, that was impossible. It wouldn't make any sense. There would be no way to do that. If he did, did she believe that she's fictional, and that's why she couldn't remember being half nonfictional?

He ran through all the possible things she might remember if she had forgotten about her powers. Nothing abruptly stood out to him, which worried him further. But if she remembered him, did that mean she remembered all the other books they had visited?

He sat down on a wooden chair at a small kitchen table, watching Bethany's sleeping form. She looked healthier now, and her skin had returned to its natural color. He was glad she was awake, now. After what he saw last night, she might as well have been dead. Or she could've gone into a coma. There was no way he could loose her. He could even _imagine_ a life without her in it. She was his best friend.

He put his head in his hands and racked his brain for ideas, trying to think. No, Nobody couldn't have erased all her memories of the nonfictional world. The only thing he wanted to do was free the fictional world from the nonfictional one.

Suddenly, he came to a realization, and it sent his world tumbling down.

"Oh no," Kiel muttered. "Oh no oh no oh no oh no . . ."

There was no other explanation than the fact that Nobody had managed to separate Bethany. It had to be true. And if it was, that meant the Bethany with him now was fictional. Only fictional. That also meant there was a nonfictional Bethany, who most likely was with Owen. It made sense, but it scared him. That meant that she didn't have powers anymore.

What was Nobody going to do, now that he had separated the worlds? He wasn't just going to sit around and do nothing. If fictional Bethany didn't remember anything, Kiel had to do something. He'd never seen her so weak, except maybe that time she had been nearly drowned by Doyle Holmes. The only person that could fix this was him.

Saying something and actually doing something were completely different things, Kiel had discovered. To stop Nobody, he assumed he had to reunite Bethany's fictional self with her nonfictional self. In order to do that, he probably needed to create a spell big enough that could open a portal to the nonfictional world.

The only problem was he had no idea how to do that. It could take years, and he was still learning magic again. How was he supposed to do this all by himself? He needed to find some help, and he figured he'd need more people than Abdo to help him. He thought about contacting Charm, then denied that thought. Charm didn't know much about magic, and she was busy.

He stopped thinking about the topic at hand, and instead thought about what he'd do when he got to the nonfictional world. Once he got there, that meant his spell had succeeded. Once he found nonfictional Bethany, all he had to do was tell her she was half fictional, and convince her to reunite with her fictional self. That part would be easy, he was sure of it. After that, everything would be solved, and everything could go back the way it was. It sounded a lot easier than it looked.

"She's going to be stable, if that's what you're worrying about," a voice said, causing him to jump and bang his knees on the bottom of the table.

"Oh," Kiel breathed. "Do you think she'll be okay by tomorrow?"

The woman took a seat beside him. He hadn't met her until this morning, but from what he'd learned, she was a nurse, and had recently opened her house into a small hospital. The other men were her assistants. Unlike most Magisterian nurses, she used equipment from Quanterium instead. It reminded Kiel of the time he'd visited the hospital in the nonfictional world. Surprisingly, a lot of their equipment looked like Quanterium's.

"I'd like to monitor her overnight, to see how the swelling in her brain goes down," the nurse said. "I've been warming her up slowly with a heated IV and heating blankets, since you were both moderately hypothermic as of last night."

"You seem to know a lot from Quanterium's medical institute," Kiel noticed.

"Is that a problem?" she asked sternly, her eyebrows raised.

"No," he said quickly. "It's different, but it's good to see people in Magisteria using Quanterium machines. It's really moving technology along."

"Okay," the nurse said, and Kiel could've sworn he saw her roll her eyes.

"So, do you think Bethany will get better? I mean, long term. She doesn't remember much. That's what I'm worried about."

"If it's memory we're talking about, she's probably just got amnesia from all the head swelling. Her memory could come back in a number of hours, or days, or months, or even years —"

" _Years_?" Kiel cried loudly, his panicked voice rising an octave. The nurse shushed him.

"Yes!" She assured him, her face softening. "But she does remember _you_. Maybe you can help jog her memory faster."

"I dunno, I guess." He huffed, suddenly feeling annoyed at how calmly this woman was talking to him. This situation was scary, much scarier than any battle or war or quest; those things were fun. Usually, he was the one who had everything figured out. This time it was the opposite.

The nurse grimaced at him. "Don't get annoyed with me. I saved your lives, remember?"

"Yeah, right," he said. "Thanks."

She looked out the window. "It's past noon. How far away did you say you lived?"

"Not far. I just need to walk down the path in the woods."

"You should get going," the nurse said. "Your folks must be worried about you."

"No," Kiel said brusquely.

"You're in good condition to leave! Your family must be worried sick. I'll take care of your friend. She must stay and recover."

"I'd prefer to stay here with her," Kiel retorted. "If she wakes up I want to be here."

"Five more minutes," the nurse said sharply, and when Kiel began to protest, she held up her index finger. "Five. Minutes. Understand? You can come back in the morning."

She peered at him closely, enough to make him uncomfortable. "You're a young boy. Shouldn't you be having fun with your friends?"

"I've saved the universe more times than you can count. I'm more grown up than you think," he said, and then he pushed himself out of his chair and briskly walked past the nurse, taking a seat at Bethany's bedside. He didn't turn around. He didn't want to see the look of shock on her face, the look that he sometimes got from adults. Saving the world meant he was different from every other kid.

Ever since he learned he was made of science, it all made sense. It was painful to hear, but it made sense. He hated that Dr. Verity was the one who had made him, since all it meant was that he was a clone. He may look human, but he couldn't even be sure at this point. If Jonathan Porterhouse had the intention of giving him a tragic backstory, it had certainly worked. He didn't even have parents. The only person he'd ever had as a father figure was the Magister, who turned evil when he discovered the truth about their lives. Despite this, Kiel still cared for his old master.

Not that many adults knew about Kiel's backstory, however. All they thought about was the hero Kiel Gnomenfoot, and when they actually saw him, they realized he was only twelve years old.

Kiel wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and looked at Bethany, watching the way her chest rose and fell as she slept. He had never seen her asleep. She looked peaceful, for once, and much less worried.

"I'll be back tomorrow, okay?" he said softly, flashing her a smile. He didn't except an answer, but he wanted to say it anyway. The last thing he wanted was for her to freak out again when she woke up to strangers.

* * *

When Bethany woke the next morning, she discovered her head hurt a lot less. She moved to sit up, and also noticed that her head contraption was gone. The heavy blanket had been replaced with a light fluffy one, which allowed her to sit up without feeling trampled.

"You're up early," said a voice, and Bethany turned to see the woman from yesterday entering from a nearby hallway.

"Yeah," she said, stretching her limbs. She looked down at herself and was surprised to see herself wearing new clothes instead of her usual superhero outfit. She was wearing a simple long sleeve shirt and long trousers, which were loosely held in place with a belt.

Bethany began to take in her surroundings. The room she was in looked like a miniature hospital ward. Next to her bed were five other beds, which all had the same machinery next to it. As far as she could see, it wasn't much. In the room in front of her was a small table and a kitchen. Down the hallway was a small bedroom and another room full of supplies.

"Sorry about the mess," the woman said. There were clanging noises coming from the kitchen, and from the looks of it, she was cooking breakfast.

"It's not very messy," Bethany said truthfully, sliding out of the bed. She noiselessly walked over to the kitchen and put a hand on the wall to steady herself. The small dining table was mostly covered in medical books and strange ointments, which were all shoved to the side of the table and threatened to crash onto the floor.

"Do you feel better?" the woman, who Bethany assumed was a nurse, asked. She was mixing a pot of food over a fire, and didn't turn around.

"Yeah, I do," she said gratefully.

"Your name is Bethany, correct?"

Feeling a little defensive with a stranger in these unfamiliar surroundings, she slowly nodded. She had to remind herself that the only reason this woman knew her name was because Kiel had told her. It wasn't like she was a wanted fugitive.

"Once you are certain you feel better—"

"I am," Bethany said immediately.

"—I'll let you go. But first I need to do check-ups to make sure your body is healthy," she continued. "That was quite a wreck you put your body through. Many of the townsfolk, including me, are very curious as to what fell out of the sky. A very bright object had fallen from the sky. I haven't told anybody it was a person, but I also haven't heard an explanation, either."

When the young girl didn't say anything, she continued, "Don't worry about explaining right away. You must be hungry and worn out. I'm making breakfast. Are you hungry?"

"I guess," Bethany said warily. In fact, she was starving. She took a seat at the small wooden table and studied the many jars of ointments with faded words written on the labels.

"Order up," the nurse chimed pleasantly, despite the ever-present gruffness in her voice, as she spooned a pile of food onto the plate in front of Bethany. She eyed it suspiciously. It looked different from what she usually ate, but she was hungry. She ate fast, even when the nurse ordered her to slow down.

"Now," the nurse said. "I need you to answer a few questions. Kiel confirmed he saw you fall from the sky. Do you have any recollection as to why?"

Bethany looked at her with reluctant patience, then shook her head. "I don't know. I don't remember anything about that."

"What else do you remember?" The woman leaned forward in her chair. This was starting to feel like an interrogation. "Is there a parent we can contact?"

Bethany's face brightened. "My father. He's —" She cut herself off and tried to think. Whenever she tried bringing back memories, the thinking process became harder.

"He's what?" the nurse asked with growing impatience, concern on her face.

"I was going to say I know where he is, but I don't know specifically. I know he isn't from here. He's from, um, a different world."

"A different world," the nurse repeated. She shook her head. "That sounds a bit crazy, don't you think?"

"If there's anything I'm positive about, it's my father," Bethany said confidently. "He knows I'm missing. He'll come find me."

"Is there any way to get in contact with him?"

"Can I go see Kiel?" she asked, peering out the window as if he might be outside.

"I asked you a question. Can we contact your father? What about your mother?"

She drummed her fingers on the table in anticipation and looked back at the nurse. "I'm not sure."

"You're not sure . . . what?" the nurse questioned, looking irritated now.

"I just don't know, okay?" she said, the worry rising in her voice. "I don't know how to contact my father. I don't know who my mother is. I've never had one."

"I see," the nurse said. "Well, I told Kiel he might be of some use to help rouse your memory. Do you think that might help?"

Bethany nodded. She was glad that at least Kiel was here, since she couldn't seem to remember much of anything, lately.

"I'll let you know if I remember anything," she said, and the nurse nodded, sitting up and clearing their plates.

She looked out the window and awaited Kiel's return like a lost dog, feeling both annoyed and afraid. She must've had a memory charm cast on herself, because really there was no explainable way for her memory loss. It was irritating. All she wanted to do was scream, because not remembering something was the _worst_. But also, that meant something terrible might've happened, and she might never remember what it was.

A knock on the door caused Bethany to jump from her chair, and she immediately ran to open it. Kiel was standing there, looking a mixture of surprised and relieved.

"You're awake? How are you? Are you feeling better?" he asked, barely able to stop smiling. She responded by giving him a quick hug.

"I'm okay, but the woman says you can help jog my memory. Can you do it? I want to know what's wrong with me," she said, looking at him with worry.

"I don't know if I can bring your memories back," Kiel confessed. "I'm still relearning magic, but I think I already know what's wrong."

Bethany looked at him expectedly. "Okay. What is it, then?"

He sighed. "I'll tell you the truth, and even if you don't believe me, you have to because it's true."

Bethany groaned. "That doesn't make any sense. Would you just tell me already?"

"You don't feel like yourself because the other half of you is in the nonfictional world," Kiel said quickly. "You were split in half by Nobody, this evil faceless man everyone's been telling me about. He split you in half because he wanted to get rid of the connection between the two worlds — and you're that connection. So that's my theory. And if my theory is correct, that is also the reason you can't remember anything."

" _What_?" Bethany demanded, flabbergasted. "Kiel, how is that possible? I think you're the one who sounds crazy. I've lived with my father my whole life, training to be a superhero —"

"Wait!" he cut her off. "Your father? You said you've lived with your father your whole life?"

"Yeah," she huffed. "What's the big deal?"

"Beth," Kiel said slowly. "Ever since I met you, you've been looking for your father. We went on billions of trips searching in books for him. That was your goal — to find your father. And now you did!"

"Kiel, if you're lying to me I really will —" she started to warn, but he interrupted her again.

"Trust me, I'm not. Before now, you've had the power to jump in between fictional and nonfictional worlds. The fictional world — the world we're in now — is written by people called 'authors' in the nonfictional world. You should know this, because you're the one who taught me this. When I first learned the truth I felt the exact same way. Crazy, huh? But now I know that the two worlds exist."

When Bethany remained silent, he continued, "You were half fictional, half nonfictional. That meant you had the power to move between worlds. You were the only person who could do that, until I'm guessing Nobody took your powers away. When he took your powers away, that caused you to split in half and now you exist as half a person."

"If I'm here, does that mean my . . . other half . . . is in the . . . nonfictional world?" Bethany asked uneasily, feeling greatly confused.

"Yes!" Kiel said, with a little too much enthusiasm. "The nonfictional half of you is there, but has differences. She probably can't remember anything about the fictional world, since you don't remember Owen or the nonfictional world. I swear I'm telling the truth."

"If you are . . ." Bethany said warily. "Can you prove it? Is there actual proof that everything you're telling me is true? Kiel, I've lived with my dad my whole life. I don't remember anything except my life with him, and the adventures I've had in that time. I'm sorry, but I don't remember whatever you're talking about."

He then held up his hand, and began to murmur a spell. "This is a truth spell. It's called the Fog of Truth spell. If I tell anything but the truth, my brain will collapse."

"But—"

Kiel then proceeded to tell her stories. Stories about their book-jumping adventures. Their fight with the Magister. The time they spent trapped in the Doyle Holmes book. The many fun trips they took into books. The times they almost were killed, and the times they came close to finding Bethany's father, but never did. And lastly, he talked about Nobody splitting Bethany in half, and separating her nonfictional and fictional selves.

Bethany waited for something bad to happen. Not once in the entire story did his brain collapse. His mouth moved on it's own, pouring out words until there was nothing left to say.

She gulped nervously and stumbled onto one of the hospital beds in the nurse's house. "I need to sit down."

"Everything I said was true," Kiel protested, removing the spell from himself.

"I know that, now," she said, her head spinning. "But I don't even fully believe you. It can't be true. I have no memories whatsoever about what you've just told me. And anyways, there's nothing we can do about it. I'm sorry, but I think that maybe this Nobody guy did me a favor. If what you said is true, I have a great life now. I'm with my father."

"What?" he asked, shell-shocked. "No, no, no. Beth, you need to come with me and reunite with your nonfictional self. We have to stop Nobody."

"You said you might not even be able to get to this nonfictional world," she pointed out. "It's no use trying when it probably won't work. You can try, but I don't think it will. I'm not about to fight this Nobody guy."

"The Bethany I know wouldn't give up without a fight," Kiel said quietly, feeling beyond disappointed.

"I'm not giving up," Bethany shot back. "I'm just saying, I like my life how it is. I'm training to be a superhero, and there's nothing else I'd rather do than that. I'm being realistic —"

"You're being stubborn!"

"— and the life I've had is everything I've wanted, like you said. I'm happier with my father in my life. It isn't my biggest concern to stop Nobody."

"But it should be!" he fought back. "He's tearing the worlds apart. He'll take over the world. Including the fictional world. _Our_ world. If we don't stop him, everything will fall apart. I'm serious."

"Fine," she said. "But I already told you there's nothing we can do. How are we supposed to open a portal to a nonfictional world that is closed?"

"I don't know," he said, feeling disheartened. "But we have to try. You might not realize it, but I'm trying to save you. Without your other half you aren't yourself. We need to fix you first, and then stop Nobody. You were born with the power to jump in between the two worlds. They're your powers. Even if you don't remember them, you were born with them. Why would I lie about that? Are you going to let a stupid villain take that power away?"

"No," Bethany said, a feeling of determination suddenly coursing through her. "I guess I won't."

Kiel's hopes were lifted again. Now that he was sure she was convinced, all he had to do was make that spell. He grinned, feeling hopeful that he once again had luck on his side. "Okay. Good."

"Yeah, whatever. As long as we do it quickly," she replied, fighting the urge to roll her eyes, and instead giving him a smile. They drifted off into a comfortable silence, and Bethany kept her attention balanced between wondering about what was going on with Nobody and the current memories she possessed.

Several minutes later, the nurse and her two assistants entered the house, and they did a quick check-up to make sure if Bethany was free to go. Thankfully, she was, and the two kids made their way back to Kiel's tower.

"Are you sure your dad can find you from here?" Kiel asked during the long walk through the woods.

Bethany shrugged. "He should be able to. I'm not sure what other way to contact him, but I know he'll be able to find me."

"Are you going to start researching about the spell right away?" she asked. "I'll help, but I don't know how good I'll be at researching magic. And if it takes too long, I need to go home to my father. We've been doing superhero training."

He nodded, and began fidgeting with his wand knives. It was clear that he had a lot of nervous energy.

"Do you know what exact spell we need to find?"

No response. Maybe a spell powerful enough to open a gate into a world outside their own was harder finding than it looked.

"You don't need to worry," Bethany said, feeling strangely calm and carefree. Maybe it was because this was her fictional side, but she had barely worried about a thing since she learned of her real memories. "You're Kiel Gnomenfoot, remember? Haven't you killed dragons?"

"The fact that you're telling _me_ to stop worrying is even more concerning! Usually, all _you_ do is worry," Kiel said. Then he looked at her and forced a wink. "But you're right! What could go wrong?"

"Nothing, I hope," Bethany said, and they both shared a smile.

As they found out later, they were very wrong.

* * *

 _"All the other kids with the pumped up kicks, you'd better run, better run, outrun my bullet . . ."_


	5. The Time Security Agency

**A/N - Thank you all so much for your reviews and thoughts on my story! I can't believe people are actually reading this lol. If you're reading this, don't be afraid to leave a review if you are enjoying my story! If you want, you can also request any scenes you'd like to see. This story is going to be pretty long, so I'll get around to everything.**

 _ **What You Know (by The Two Door Cinema Club)**_

 _"And I can tell just what you want. You don't want to be alone, you don't want to be alone . . ."_

* * *

Bethany loved Saturday.

This was her favorite day of the week, because she could waste the whole day reading. She'd get all her homework done the night before, just so she could spend the day flipping through books. Her mom sometimes had to drag her out of her room, to "get fresh air" and "hang out with friends." Bethany did those things! . . . Well, not on Saturday. Saturday was a day for leisure, for reading and learning about new worlds. So was Sunday, as a matter of fact. The problem that often occurred, though, was her mandatory school book club.

She joined the club once she started high school, as an excuse to read more and talk with others about what she loved most. She got to hang out with Liz as well, which was a double bonus.

Big mistake.

In addition to group meetings every Saturday, they met four out of the five days in the week, leaving out Friday and Sunday as free time. They were given a list of books and had to read a book per week, and at each meeting they discussed what part they were at. It wasn't all that bad. Bethany loved reading, and the more books the better.

But she couldn't say she had to same love for the people in the book club itself. Although there were few people, the club was split into three parts. It was made up of the two very strange antisocial girls, Sonia and Zoey; then there were three girls who simply wanted credit for doing an extra curricular, Abby, Julia, and Mary; Bethany and Liz, the reading-addicts, made up the last portion of the club. That being said, Bethany couldn't exactly find a common ground with anyone, because none of them enjoyed reading for fun except for her and Liz. Was it too much to hope that she'd make another friend who devoted themselves to books as much as her?

The book club meeting started at 9:30 am, and went on until 10:45 am. It was held in the school library, which was open every Saturday for the students. Bethany thought it would be so much easier if they held it at her favorite bookstore instead of the school. She really, really preferred not to go back to school again on the weekend, while the other students had two precious days to spend far away from it. She'd considered dropping out of the club before, of course, but why? She loved reading at any chance she got, and being a part of that club offered the opportunity to being forced to read.

The last person that attended their book club meeting was Mrs. Ugliano. She was a heavy-set woman who had taught English at her school for nearly twenty years. Over time, however, she was replaced by a younger teacher in her thirties, due to the fact that Mrs. Ugliano was in her seventies, and should be retiring soon. As an easy job, she became counselor of the book club, and took charge of everything the girls had to read.

Once she was part of the book club, their meetings became something Bethany looked forward to. She led group discussions, gave them fun activities to do, and even let them perform small skits about the books they were reading.

Bethany loved the activities they did as a group, and it made her feel closer to her club members, somehow. Not only was Mrs. Ugliano fun, but she was also kind, and she always prioritized the teenagers' needs before her's. She never seemed to get angry when the girls became too out-of-hand, and she'd always set aside everything she was doing whenever they wanted her attention. Once, she even took them out to ice cream, which was a double bonus.

So, imagine Bethany's surprise when she arrived at school at 9:28, exactly on schedule, when she found the front door to her school was locked. That never happened. The front door was always open, except on Sundays. She tried jiggling the knob again; once, twice, three times. It didn't budge.

Frowning, she took out her phone and called Liz. After a few rings, she picked up. "Hello?"

"Liz! What's going on? I'm at school for the book club meeting, and—"

"Oh yeah!" Liz exclaimed. "The book club was canceled."

"What?" Bethany demanded, clenching the phone tighter. "How? Why?"

"To be honest? I don't know. I think Mrs. Ugliano retired."

"How could she? She might be old but she loves hosting our book club meetings."

"Still." Liz sighed over the phone. "I can't imagine her wanting to do this forever. Maybe she's just sick."

"Yeah, I hope that's what it is."

Bethany's mind raced with questions as she climbed in her mom's car fifteen minutes later. She couldn't shake away the bad feeling. Something more must've been going on for it to be canceled. In all the time she'd been at this school, the book club had never, not once, been canceled.

It didn't take her long to get home. Feeling disappointed, she wiped her shoes on the mat and opened the door. Her mom made a point to tell her to do something besides "read in bed all day", but of course, Bethany didn't listen, because that was exactly what she was going to do. She sighed, taking off her shoes and climbing the stairs. She reached her room and closed the door, throwing her book on her bed. She really didn't know what to do today, now that the book club was cancelled. Her day had just gotten a whole lot less eventful.

Quickly, she texted Liz, asked her if she wanted to hang out that night, and stuffed her phone in her hoodie pocket. Then, she plopped down on her bed and picked up the book she hadn't been able to get out of her head, _Pick The Plot._

* * *

Explaining everything that had happened to Kara was easy, basically because she already knew everything Owen was telling her. As they sat in the dining hall that night, Owen told her about Bethany, his half-fictional best friend. He told her about getting trapped in the seventh _Kiel Gnomenfoot_ book, his escape from Doyle, his failed attempt to fight Nobody, and his journey with Bethany into the superhero novel, where he discovered who Bethany's father was.

Most of this information, Kara already knew. And Owen didn't have a clue how she knew him.

"I'm confused," he stated, setting down his fork. "How do you know this? Did I tell you?"

"Yes," she said, nodding. "Most of it, anyway. You didn't tell me the full story about Bethany until now. This is the first time you meet me, it must be. Before I got in this prison — that's when I met you for the first time. In the past. I still don't understand why you let me turn myself in. Did you do it because you knew you'd be here, in the future?"

At Owen's confused stare, she sighed and shook her head. "Never mind. You'll understand if you don't think too hard about it. What matters is that Nobody threw you in here. We have to get you out before the whole world falls apart."

Owen couldn't agree more with that. He had to get out of here and stop Nobody before everything he fought for was lost.

He assumed that everything that was happening with Kara had to do with time travel. She was a time traveler herself (which he remembered from the Kara Dox series), but Owen still didn't understand how he didn't remember her specifically. How could he meet her at a different time than she met him? Even _trying_ to think about this was hard.

"Don't think too hard about it," Kara said. "Don't worry. I'll help get you out of here, even though I know there's no way this will in any way be quick." She looked up, as if pondering something. "Of course, there hasn't been an escape from this time prison in decades, so really —"

"Kara!"

"Okay — okay!" she said, laughing. "Sorry."

Fighting the urge to smile despite it coming naturally, Owen skewered a chunk of sausage and bit into it. "Before we start planning an escape, maybe I should learn about you. You know, just so I know I can trust you."

"You can trust me —" Kara began to say, then stopped herself. "Right. You don't remember me, and you don't know if I'm trustworthy. That's fair. You want to know why I'm here, in this time prison? I turned myself in voluntarily." She looked at him. "I belong here, Owen. I'm in here for the safety of . . . everyone. If I left, I'd mess up the world. I'm too dangerous."

Judging by the tone in her voice, Owen figured she was definitely touchy about the subject. Quietly, he said, "Okay" and they continued eating until dinner was over.

Later that evening, as the time prisoners were directed back to their cells, Owen tried making up an escape plan.

"Here's the plan," he whispered to himself, writing an imaginary list in his head and drawing it out with his finger. "First, learn what I can about this place. Second, have Kara help me steal a time watch. Third, use the time watch and escape to a different point in time. Fourth, somehow escape from this book, just in time for me to save Bethany."

As he imagined the scenario, he felt more hopeful. He had never been great on devising the plans, but he was confident that this plan was the best one he could make — for now. He couldn't imagine anything getting any worse except for the fact that Kara mentioned the time prison was heavily guarded. Oh, and he had to take a simulation test tomorrow. There was also that.

"Can you stop talking to yourself?" Kara's voice rang from the cell next door. "I'm trying to sleep, Owen."

Heat rose to his cheeks. "Sorry," he whispered. Then a second passed, and he suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to talk to someone. "Hey, Kara?"

When no one responded, he pushed himself off the floor and walked over to the right of his cell, where their cells connected. Moonlight was shining through his window, casting a faint glow on the metal bars. If he tilted his head to the right, he could almost see the corner of a bed.

"Kara?" he called.

She sat up, ripping the covers off her and marching over to him, curling her hands around the cell bars. "What?"

He recoiled, partly because their faces were so close, and partly because she looked angry. "N-Nothing."

"Then what were you calling me for?"

"I want to talk. About the escape."

Her eyes widened, and she thrust her hand in between the bars and put a finger on his lips. "Shh! Keep your voice down!"

"Sorry," Owen whispered, lowering his voice. "I know it's late, but I need to talk to you about it. If this place is as heavily guarded as you say, how are we supposed to get the time watches?"

"We'll have to figure that part out later," she said, returning her arm to her side.

Owen grew horrified. "You mean you don't know where the time watches are?"

Kara motioned for him to quiet down. "Not . . . right now. I haven't tried escaping, because —whatever. It's not safe for me to be anywhere else but here."

"It doesn't matter," he hissed. "You said you would help me, right? So we need to locate those time watches."

"They're surrounded by high security," she said. "That's all I know about them. I don't know where they're located, since we're pretty much caged everywhere we go. But the only time we'd get to look for them is at night."

"Why not during the day?" Owen asked.

"Remember all those jobs I told you about?" she asked. He nodded. "That's all we do during the day. Everyone is required to go to meals, and then right after that we do our jobs until dinner."

 _Crap_ , he thought. This would take a lot more time than he had.

"Okay," Owen said, taking in all of this new information. "That isn't so bad. We just need to look for the time watches at night."

"If we can find a way out of our cells," Kara added, then tried not to laugh at the bewildered look that must've been on his face. "Just kidding. I _do_ know how to get out of the cell."

"You do?" Owen gasped. "Then why are we stuck in here still?"

"Because even if we can get out of the cells, we wouldn't be able to freely run down the hallways without guards catching us."

How terribly ironic. Of _course_ the book Nobody threw him in would have the best security. He wanted to make sure Owen would never find a way out. In fact, he had planned on it.

A feeling of exhaustion suddenly hit him, and he said goodnight to Kara, pealed off his shoes, and dragged himself to the small bed at the corner of his cell. He decided he was going to sit and think the plan through, but only for a minute.

He pulled his knees up, rested his forehead between them, and stared at the darkness. He tried to think about what to do next. Out the window, he heard the distant roar of a dinosaur.

 _Good riddance_ , he thought. He never wanted to almost get eaten by a dinosaur again.

"Hey, Beth?" her mother's voice called from downstairs.

Looking up from her book, Bethany felt a little irritated now that her mother was breaking her concentration. Right when she was getting to a good part, too!

"What?" she asked, shutting the book.

"You might want to come see this. It's that old lady who is in charge of your book club!"

"What?" Bethany repeated, jumping from her bed and making her way down the carpeted stairs. "What happened?"

She walked down the hall to find her mother sitting on the couch in the living room. The TV was on, and she could see a News channel was playing. A News reporter stood in front of a small, gray-brick house. In the background, police were walking around in the yard. Next to the reporter was none other than Mrs. Ugliano.

"It's that old lady who teaches your book club meetings," Bethany's mother said, her hands hugging the pale yellow sweater she wore closer to her body.

"I know," Bethany said, taking a seat on the couch. "Do you know what that News reporter is doing at her house?"

"I just turned the channel on," she replied. "She looks scared. I sure hope that nothing bad happened."

Bethany turned her attention back to the TV, where she saw the News reporter holding a microphone, asking Mrs. Ugliano questions. "So, you say you saw a boy. . . appear in thin air. Is that right?"

The old woman nodded, looked shaken. "He didn't just appear in thin air! I was cleaning my dishes, getting ready to go down to the high school I host a book club at. I looked out my kitchen window, and I saw this. . . strange light. When the light had faded, a boy was there. He just—appeared! He just appeared! Nothing about that is natural!"

The News reporter patted her on the shoulder in an effort to calm her down. "It's all right, ma'am. Did you see anything else after that?"

"Y-Yes," Mrs. Ugliano said, struggling to regain her composure. "After that, he fainted. I went over to help him, but as I put on my coat and made my way over, he suddenly stood up and pushed me over! He had weapons."

Bethany and her mother exchanged a worried look.

"Well, do you know where he went after that?" asked the reporter, looking slightly impatient now.

"He ran into the woods behind my house," she replied. "I-I don't know where he went after that. But I called the police straight away."

"Thank you for your time, Mrs. Ugliano," he said. "The police will get to the bottom of this straight away. One last question: do you know what he looked like?"

"I didn't get a good look at his face. For one thing, he had black hair. And he was wearing black clothes, too. He looked—I don't know—maybe fourteen or fifteen. Maybe even sixteen. I was never very good at predicting ages."

"Thank you, ma'am," said the News reporter, turning to the camera with a bright smile. "That'll be all. Back to you, Jim!"

The TV switched to a different News reporter, who was talking about a murder incident outside of a grocery store. Bethany tuned it out, turning to her mother with wide eyes.

"This is terrible!" she said. "I feel so bad. She could've been killed by that boy!"

"God, I know!" her mother exclaimed, rising from the couch. "I feel so bad for that poor old woman. She must be terrified."

Bethany nodded. "It makes sense that she canceled the meeting today."

"I tell you — so many kids your age are going crazy. I'm glad you aren't one of them. Ever since kids started doing drugs —"

"Mom."

"— and alcohol."

"Mom," Bethany groaned. "I don't do those things. And I'm definitely not crazy, either."

Her mother nodded, smiling. "I know, Beth. Just be careful when you're walking to the library. I know you have Elizabeth with you, but you still need to be careful. If that boy on the News is a psycho, I won't feel comfortable with you being by yourself."

"But I won't be," she said. "I'd be with Liz. And even if he was crazy, he definitely wouldn't want to kill me."

Bethany's mother laughed. "I wouldn't kill you either. You're addicted to reading and studying."

"Not my fault I need to get good grades," Bethany said, smiling. "Can I go back upstairs now? I was kind of in the middle a really great chapter."

"Yes," she said, walking over to the kitchen and opening the fridge. "I'm glad all your book-jumping days are behind you, Beth. I really am."

What was she talking about? Book-jumping? Deciding it would be better not to question her about it, Bethany returned to her room, feeling confused as ever.

Mrs. Ugliano's experience with that crazy boy on the News popped back into her head, and for some reason, she wasn't able to shake that strange feeling away. There was no logical explanation for a boy suddenly appearing in thin air. There simply wasn't.

She sat on her bed again and picked her book, _Pick The Plot_ , up. She stared at it, letting out a long sigh once she realized she had forgotten to bookmark the page.

"Shoot," she whispered, opening the book to a random page and flipping through, looking for the right one. After a few minutes of searching, she found it.

* * *

A loud noise stirred Owen from his sleep. The cell was still dark, but his door was now open. It took him a moment to realize that it was the bell to wake everyone up, since the prisoners in other cells were starting to travel down the hallways.

Dazed, he threw off the covers and started to stretch. He felt like he hadn't gotten any sleep last night, with the considerable amount of dinosaur roars keeping him awake. Slowly, he started to put on his shoes. He was in the middle of tying them when he spotted Kara walking out of her cell.

She glanced at him and slowed to a stop. "Hurry up!"

Tying his shoes as quickly as he could, Owen darted out of his cell and joined the group of prisoners walking down the hallway.

"Do they really have to use that bell to wake people up?" Owen choked, his voice hoarse.

Kara gave him a smile. "You get used to it. It was so annoying when I first came here."

"No wonder the people here are so grouchy," he muttered, looking at the group of adult prisoners who walked with them.

The hallway ended, branching off into a larger hallway. More groups of prisoners emerged from other hallways; each group was led by a guard, who carried a small futuristic-looking gun. Owen looked down each hallway as they passed, hoping to see some sort of exit sign. He saw a lot of airlocks, similar to those in _Jurassic Park_ , but he didn't see a way out.

His group, along with the others, were led into the dining hall. At the center of it was a huge buffet filled to the brim with food, which probably smelled as delicious as it tasted. The room seemed brighter than it had been the night before, and Owen found himself squinting.

"Do you eat breakfast?" Kara asked, walking to the buffet line. "I'm usually a breakfast person."

"Huh," he replied, too preoccupied with looking around. Maybe it was the aftershock that he was really stuck here, but everything seemed a lot bigger. He noticed something that he hasn't before — besides him and Kara, all the prisoners were adults.

"Owen?"

He turned back to Kara. She was in the line, holding an empty plate and staring at him expectantly.

"Are you sure you're meant to be here?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "I already told you, the whole world would probably fall apart if I left —"

"Okay, I know that part. But did you realize that we're the only kids here?"

Looking around, she seemed to notice his observation. "I mean, yeah. We are. It's because most kids aren't time travelers. Not that you are, of course."

He shrugged, but couldn't shake the disturbing fact that every other prisoner here was an adult, besides the few older teenagers Kara had mentioned. He knew Kara shouldn't be here. Even if this was a fictional book, and Kara was the heroine, he didn't think it was right.

"Age doesn't matter here," Kara said simply, putting a piece of toast on her plate. "Don't worry about it."

"I am," Owen said, giving her a look. "A lot of these prisoners look really intimidating. I don't get why you're in this prison, too."

"Can we not talk about this?" she asked abruptly. "Seriously, the only thing we need to focus on is your escape plan."

"Escape plan?" a loud voice said. Both of them cringed, then turned around to see a large, stocky man walking towards them.

"How did you hear that?" Owen demanded, unconsciously backing away into the food table.

"I have ears," the prisoner said, smirking. "Believe me, you won't be escaping. I've tried. Forty-three times."

Kara forced a smile, turning back to putting food on her plate. "Good for you."

"No, _Kara Dox_ ," the man said, getting closer. "Not good. Every time I've tried escaping, the guards catch me, electrocute me, and lock me up again."

"I've been there," Owen muttered.

"You think you can do better than me?" the man spat, choking out a laugh. "You are both pathetic little children."

"Sorry," Owen said, feeling the urge to yell at this guy. "But I know I'm definitely mature enough to successfully escape here. Maybe you aren't, and that's why you failed so many times."

A short laugh burst from Kara's mouth. As quickly as it had come, she clamped a hand over her mouth. She shot him an alarmed look, and they both turned to see a very angry expression on the man's face. "Say that to me again."

Owen realized two things. The first thing: almost everyone within a ten-degree radius was watching them. The second thing: this man wasn't going to quit. He really, _really_ hoped he wouldn't be dragged into a fight.

"Can you leave us alone?" Kara said, glaring at the other prisoner. "We're kind of in the food line."

"Oh, sure, I'll leave you alone," he said. "Once your friend here apologizes to me."

"I won't," Owen said. "But it's kind of your fault for talking to us."

The man clenched his fists. "I'll pummel you both right now for insulting me."

"What?" Kara asked. "I never —"

"Stay out of this, Kara Dox," the man said. "Boy, apologize."

"No," Owen said. "Stop bothering us."

The man stepped closer. Involuntarily, Owen flinched. The line started moving again, so he quickly busied himself by grabbing some eggs.

The prisoner continued following them, watching their every move. It was becoming annoying.

"Owen, just apologize to him," Kara said. "A lot of prisoners have picked fights with me before. They won't stop unless you do something about it."

"If he stopped following us around, I would. But he's being a jerk," Owen said, then added, "And a creep."

Following her to the end of the line, he turned to see that the man was still watching them furiously. He gulped.

WHAT PATH WOULD YOU LIKE FOR OWEN?

Owen eats his breakfast and ignores the man.

Owen fights the man.

"Let's just go to a table," she said, tugging on his arm —

— But for some reason, he couldn't move. Crinkling his eyebrows, he tried picking up his foot. It remained rooted to the ground. Panic set in. What was happening now?

"Why aren't you moving?" Kara asked.

"I can't," he said. "I don't know what's happening!"

"What?" She grabbed his arm again and pulled. He didn't even stumble toward her.

"Hey!" a tattooed woman yelled. "Stop holding up the line!"

"I'm really sorry!" Owen apologized, desperately trying to push himself forward. "What's happening?"

Suddenly, his feet began to move. He could barely contain his shocked gasp as his legs set themselves into motion. The only problem was . . . they weren't going in the right direction. He attempted to steer himself the opposite way, but it didn't work. It was as if he were being controlled.

Kara had to run to catch up with him. "Owen! Where are you going?"

"I don't know — ask my legs!"

His feet continued moving on their own, at a brisk pace. There was nothing Owen could do to gain control in his legs. After a few seconds of struggling, he gave up trying to escape and looked to see where he was going. To his horror, the prisoner who had been following them appeared right in front of him. He abruptly halted to a stop.

"Oh no," Owen whispered, eyes widening as the man's mouth stretched into a humorless grin.

"Looks who's back," the man said, cracking his knuckles. There was a group of prisoners around him, all staring daggers into the boy's eyes.

"I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to apologize," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. But at that moment, his fist swung out. The man caught it with his hand and twisted Owen's arm. He yelled in pain and tore his arm from the man's grasp, gingerly holding it with his other hand.

"What are you doing?" Kara asked, finally having caught up with him. He looked at her and opened his mouth to explain, but was interrupted.

"A good fight is what I've been missing while I've been cooped up here!" the prisoner yelled, swinging his fist into Owen. He stumbled into Kara, who put a hand on his back to steady him. "We need to get out of here, Owen! Come on!"

He tried to move, but he couldn't seem to control his actions. He kicked the man in the shin, but it hardly effected him. The man responded with a well-placed punch in the face. His ears rang. He tried to back away.

"I don't like a little boy who insults me," said the man, kicking him in the chest.

"Stop . . . hitting . . . me!" Owen gasped, coughing. He could feel Kara's arms around him again, trying to pull him away. His body fought against her, and he approached the man again, attempting to throw a punch in his face.

"No! Stop!" Kara shouted, but her shout was drowned out by the yells of others. He hadn't realized that a crowd was formed around them, and they were all chanting: "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

The man responded by grabbed his arm and throwing him to the ground. He hit the floor with a thud, barely breathing. A shadow towered over him. His brain screamed at him to hide and cower, but his body would not listen. He threw his arms over his head and closed his eyes, bracing for a final hit.

Nothing came. There was no response but silence.

Owen looked up, sucking in short breaths. Above him, the man was frozen mid-kick. He gulped as he realized it was aimed right where his head had been. He immediately scooted away from the man's foot pushed himself off the ground. He looked around, and noticed for the first time that time seemed to have stopped. For some reason, no one moved. The crowd that gathered around them was frozen, their mouths open and backs hunched. Kara was in the middle of shouting something, her hand outstretched.

Feeling confused, he pushed past the crowd and walked aimlessly around the dining hall, studying each person. It was eerily silent. It was as if time was frozen, and the only one who wasn't effected by it was Owen.

"Am . . . _I_ doing this?" he asked. His voice echoed across the now-silent room, which had been deafeningly loud a minute ago. He continued walking around the room, waving a hand in front of unresponsive faces. This was the weirdest thing that had ever happened to him in a book — and that was saying something!

From down the hall, he heard a strange popping sound, like the air being sucked into a balloon. The air around him seemed to ripple.

"Hello?" he yelled, hoping that there was someone else who could help him. He rushed to the entrance and put an ear against the door.

"This situation is very rare," said a women's voice, footsteps echoing down the hall. "In a time prison like this, incidents of time being frozen should not occur. We must find the source."

Just as he realized the footsteps were growing louder, a man and woman wearing gray one-piece suits opened the door, each holding briefcases. The door hit his face, causing him to tumble to the side with a yelp. The agents turned at the sound, and Owen quickly held himself in place.

"Hmm," the man said. "Why is this one on the floor?"

"He must have slipped on some water. Cafeterias are not the cleanest."

The woman rubbed her temples, glancing around the room. "Ugh, look at all these criminals. It appears there was some kind of fight before time was frozen. This whole prison must be reset."

"Yes," the man said. "I have a feeling that I know who did this."

Owen forced his eyelids open, trying not to blink as the agents approached his direction. Were they going to kidnap him? Did they know he was the only one who remained unfrozen?

"Since when did children start going to this prison?" the woman asked, gesturing at Owen. He was sure that they were going to kidnap him now. They could probably hear his heart beating.

"Since Kara Dox," the man said, and the woman shuddered. "I suspect she was the reason behind this. Even in this prison, she is causing ripples in time everywhere. Now she's stopping time? We should find her before she destroys this entire prison."

"Agreed," said the woman. "But first, we must reset the time to its normal speed."

The agents briskly walked out of the room, moving out of Owen's sight. He gasped for air, filling his lungs with some much-needed oxygen. He needed to warn Kara about the agents, but he couldn't do that until time returned to normal. He waited a few moments to make sure the agents weren't coming back before standing up and walking over to Kara.

"Kara?" he whispered, tapping her on the shoulder.

She was still frozen in place. She didn't appear to be controlling time as the agents had said. So maybe he'd been doing this, after all. There had to be some sort of explanation for why he hadn't been effected.

All the sudden, everything was set back into motion. Owen darted backward as the sound of a screaming crowd filled his ears, and everyone began to move. The man who had initially attacked him kicked at air, making a shocked noise when he realized no one was there.

"Wha—" the man shouted, then turned to see Owen a few feet away. "How'd you get over there?!"

"Get away from my friend," Kara growled, stepping forward. "Or I'll send you forward in time — as forward as when the sun explodes and kills the Earth."

The man flinched, which was amusing to watch, given that a few minutes ago he had been punching Owen. "You can say as many threats as you'd like, Kara Dox, but you'll never get your hands on a time watch."

"Neither will you," Kara said. "But if you hit Owen again, you'll regret it."

The man stepped back, scowling and looking back and forth from Owen to Kara. The crowd booed as the fight ended, and eventually dispersed to their tables. A flood of emotions filled Owen: relief, fear, and mostly confusion.

"Thanks," Owen told her, grinning. "That guy is insane."

She smiled back, but then lightly swatted him on the arm. "What were you doing? I thought you wanted to escape, not cause a scene!"

"I do!" he cried. "I can't explain how — but it was more like a feeling. I couldn't fight it. My body felt like it was being controlled somehow. But then, the weirdest thing happened that you won't believe. Time stopped, and—"

"Mr. Conners?" a voice said. "You're coming with me."

Owen turned around to see a TSA instructor who he didn't know the name of. His tattooed arms were folded, and his eyes held a menacing glare. Seriously, what was it with mean, intimidating characters in this book?

"Why?" he asked, his voice rising an octave. He wondered if they knew about the fight or the freezing time incident.

"It's time for you to take your simulation test, which will determine what job you will be assigned to."

"Oh," he muttered, glancing at Kara. She nodded in confirmation and gave him a reassuring smile, which calmed his nerves a little.

"Okay," he said, and followed the man out the door.

"If I've been informed correctly, I understand that you are from the outside, and you wandered onto the property of the Time Security Agency," said the man, shutting the airlock door behind him. "If you have any plans of escape, you best get those ideas out of your head, because your working for us now. Understood?"

Owen nodded mutely.

"Good. My name is Rocco. You will address me as 'Sir'. I am in charge of the simulation process. Before we begin, you probably should wipe that blood off yer face. It will be much easier to run the simulation without another face filled with germs."

The boy reached up to his face, and was a little surprised to find he was bleeding in various places, mainly his nose. He also had scrapes all over his body, and every muscle ached with pain. He hadn't been given ice, so his wounds remained painful. In a few days, he probably would have black-and-blue marks everywhere, especially on his face.

Rocco handed him a disinfectant cloth, and he used it to quickly wipe his face, neck, and limbs. Satisfied, the man took the wipe with a gloved hand and threw it in the trash.

"Now," he said, strapping Owen into a table. It took all of his willpower to not fight the man, since it brought back too many disturbing memories of Dr. Verity performing open-heart surgery on him.

Once he'd finished strapping him down, Rocco walked over to a counter, assembling a few items. "This shouldn't hurt . . . unless you're a weakling. Then it will, for you."

"Can you get this over with, already?" Owen snapped. "I don't like being strapped down."

"Don't use that tone on me, boy!" the man shouted, with an alarming rise of anger. He took a deep breath, forcing a smile at a terrified Owen. "Lets get started. This will only hurt for a second, and then you will be in the simulation. I recommend following your gut instincts. They will confirm exactly what job you can handle the best."

He gulped as the man held up a syringe, slowly walking over to him. He bent down and put a hand on the side of Owen's neck; he used the other to insert the needle, right below his jawline. Owen squeezed his eyes shut, crying out as a burning hot pain entered his body. His neck felt like it was on fire. A second later, the pain subsided, and he could feel himself getting lightheaded.

"Wha—what's . . ." he whispered, staring at Rocco. He was going to die. He was poisoned! He must've been poisoned! Any fictional character besides the protagonist simply couldn't be trusted.

Rocco shook his head, patting him on the face. "Shh. Close your eyes."

Owen managed to hold his eyes open as long as he could muster, but his vision became blurry, and he found his eyes closing voluntarily. At first, there was nothing but blackness stretching for miles. And then, an impossibly bright light.

He found himself adrift in a churning void. He felt as if his body was being stretched in all different angles as he was dragged into multiple timelines. He screamed, but nothing came out of his mouth. His body floated aimlessly around, zipping through the void at a fast pace. Everything become impossibly dizzy, and he could hardly breathe. He tried to scream again, but a glowing light radiated all around him, blinding his vision. Before he could even blink, he was back in the jungle.

He stumbled into a tree, wrapping his arms around it and panting. He felt like throwing up. When he finally regained himself, he was able to look around. It was the exact same jungle as the prehistoric one the dinosaurs were in, except there was two paths.

"Choose one," said a voice. Owen jumped. Then he realized that it was all part of the simulation, and there wasn't actually another person in here with him.

He walked forward, observing both paths. The one on the right was a more rocky terrain, dense with shrubbery. The one on the left was a more clean-cut path, with flat ground.

"Really?" Owen whispered, looking back and forth between the two. He weighed his options. "Both of these paths will probably lead to my death. I don't want to twist an ankle, though, so I'll take the left."

He started along the left path. A few seconds later, he heard a loud roar. "Oh no. Not again. Not more dinosaurs—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a Coelophysis dinosaur tore through the bushes, snapping it's sharp teeth. Owen immediately jumped back. "Ahh!"

The dinosaur roared at him, sending saliva flying in every direction. It then advanced towards Owen, opening and closing it's mouth. He continued to backpedal, looking around for anything that he could defend himself with. His foot bumped into something hard, and he turned to see a giant sword. Quickly, he scooped it up and waved it inches in front of the dinosaur's face. The creature slowly began to back away, hissing.

Suddenly, the sword and dinosaur disappeared, and the scenery changed. Owen found himself in a deserted hallway, alarms blaring loudly. He could hear a faint hissing sound in the distance, as if something was coming. Blood littered the walls.

Filled with fear, Owen sprinted away from the noise. The hallway seemed to stretch impossibly long, and he felt like he'd been running for hours. He stopped and leaned against the wall to catch his breath. As soon as he stopped, the hissing sound grew louder. He turned to see a giant snake making it's way towards him; it was half as wide as the hallway, with huge fangs and black eyes.

His eyes widened, and he began to back away. He had to remind himself that this was only a simulation, but it felt more real than anything. The snake hissed at him, it's tongue slithering out of it's mouth.

Owen tried to imagine what Kiel would do in this situation. He always knew what to do, and he always knew how to be the hero. What would he say now? What would Bethany say?

The only thing he seemed to remember right now were Pop-culture references, which didn't really help. The more he thought about it, though, an idea formed. Ignoring his anxious thoughts, Owen lunged towards the snake, and (resting his faith solely in the fact that he'd seen Indiana Jones do this in a movie), placed a hand on each of the snake's fangs. Before it could bite him, he ripped the fangs out of it's mouth. The impact sent him tumbling to the ground, and the snake hissed in pain.

Owen grinned at his handiwork, dusting himself off. "I saw that in a movie! All credits go to Indiana Jones for that idea."

The snake disappeared, and he was once again somewhere else. This time, he was in his own room. He had to take a moment to adjust to his surroundings, because being back home felt too surreal. He ran a hand over his soft bed, staring around his room. It had felt so long since he was last home, and a wave of sadness struck Owen. This was the worst place the simulation could've sent him. It was only a harsh reminder that he was stuck in a book, separated from his mother and unable to save Bethany.

"Owen!" a voice called from downstairs. "I'm home from work!"

"Mom?" Owen whispered, eyes wide. He threw open his door, his legs carrying him down the stairs. He sprinted down the hallway, sliding across the wood floor. He came to a halt as he spotted his mother next to the door.

"Mom!"

He darted forward, wrapping his arms around her. She blinked, surprised, before hugging him back. "Owen? Did you miss me that much at school today?"

He laughed, pulling away from her. Her face looked exactly as it always did, except now she looked concerned. "Did something happen today?"

"I want to come home," he begged. "Please. I want to go home. I want to leave this book."

"You _are_ home, Owen," his mother said, giving him a smile. She ruffled his hair and moved past him to set down her purse. "Why don't you get started on your homework?"

His lip quivered, but he said nothing. There was nothing to say. This wasn't real.

"I'll be home soon," he said, feeling both determined and hopeless. "I promise I'll be home. Don't worry about calling the police if you can't find me."

His mother turned around. "Are you sure you're feeling okay? I'll start making dinner. That'll make you feel better."

"I feel fine," Owen said quietly. "I think I just need to rest."

"Okay, sweetie," she said, walking into the kitchen. He watched her retreating figure, wishing he could say what he really wanted.

The scene switched again, but this time, it had faded into pitch blackness, followed by a bright light. A second later, he opened his eyes and found that he was back in the Time Security Agency. Rocco stood over him, holding a clipboard.

"Welcome back," he said. "Your results will be calculated in a few minutes."

"That . . . was . . . the worst thing," Owen gasped, trying to collect his bearings. "Why did you show me my home?"

"All of the simulation tests show the same things," Rocco told him. "The third thing prisoners are shown is the place they grew up. How their brains respond to this information is what helps calculate the results."

Owen found himself wondering where Kara had grown up, and how she had responded to the simulation test. He wondered if she'd been as freaked out as he was now.

"Ah, here we go," Rocco said, writing things on his clipboard. "You have three choices. Since most of your responses were driven by actions, your choices are these: Dinosaur hunter, patrol worker, or Raptor-feeder."

"You feed Raptors?" Owen asked, unable to contain his shock. As for the small part inside him, he was also trying not to get too excited about the mention of his favorite dinosaurs.

"We do. We capture the ones who don't put up a fight and train them to fight against other Dino's. Our main purpose here is to capture each Dinosaur. If they get too tricky, or if they eat one of you prisoners, we kill em'."

"Oh," Owen muttered.

"So, what's it gonna be, boy?" Rocco demanded. "You don't have all day to decide."

WHAT PATH WOULD YOU LIKE FOR OWEN?

Dinosaur hunter

Patrol worker

Raptor feeder

"Dinosaur hunter!" he blurted out, before he even had a chance to think. The thought of choosing that had entered his brain so quickly, completely overpowering any other thoughts.

Rocco wrote something onto his clipboard, then set it down and unstrapped Owen from the table. He led him, quite forcibly, out of the room. "The instructor for Dino hunting is Tobias. Happy hunting!"

* * *

 _"And I can't say it's what you know. But you've known it the whole time, yeah, you've known it the whole time . . ."_


	6. Kiel's Spell Dilemma

**_Whatever It Takes (by Imagine Dragons)_**

 _"You take me to the top I'm ready for whatever it takes, 'cause I love the adrenaline in my veins . . ."_

* * *

 **Three Years Ago**

It was late, almost midnight, when Kiel found his face wedged into the side of his spell book, some nasty-looking droll formulating on the pages. He sat up, swiping at his mouth with slight disgust. It was rare and completely against Kiel's nature to over-exhaust himself over endless researching. In the past when he got too tired, it was usually from using too many strong spells. Usually Bethany was the one who researched, Owen contributed, and Kiel managed to slack off for a while until one of them got mad. While the others were more scholarly, he was an excellent strategist. He was better at taking action once they were inside a book. If they got in trouble, he was more than willing to fight the enemies with a smile on his face.

He looked down at the page the spell book was open to. It was a teleportation spell, which he'd been reading and attempting to study for hours. Usually, the spell book opened to whatever spell Kiel needed most, but most times the book seemed confused. It would flip between various spells, as if unsure about which spell would be the right one. Unfortunately, he was dealing with the same problem. There was no specific spell that allowed a fictional person to jump out of a book, so that made everything much more difficult. He resorted to researching every spell that he could find for the situation.

But he was terrible at research, and lacked the patience for it, but with Nobody's threat hanging over him he knew he didn't have much time. He wanted to do what was right, and he believed that he was doing the right thing. But it was hard creating a spell that would form a link to the nonfictional world. He had to do it alone.

A few weeks after Bethany crash-landed in the woods, he realized no one would be able to help him. So far, there wasn't much proof that the world needed saving, even if Kiel's gut said otherwise. He remembered how confused he felt when he was first in the nonfictional world, and how difficult it was for him to understand that he wasn't real. He thought about asking Charm, but he knew how she'd react. She wouldn't believe him, and would call him crazy for trying to create this spell. He realized that others would call him crazy, too.

"What am I doing?" he whispered under his breath, eyes lifting from the book. Although Charm believed it all the time, it was the first time _he_ felt stupid.

"That's exactly what I am thinking," a voice said.

Kiel jumped from his seat and looked around, but saw no one. "Who's there?"

"I've come to know that you're trying to create a spell that will make a link between the fictional and nonfictional worlds," the voice said, drawling out each word. "I can't let you do that, Kiel Gnomenfoot. I can't let you single-handedly destroy everything I've carefully worked to fix."

Eyes wide, he picked up his wand-knives from his desk. "How do you know that? Who told you that?"

"Nobody," the voice echoed, now sounding amused. From the shadows of the room, Kiel watched a man step into the sunlight. He had never recalled seeing him before, but the minute he saw him he knew exactly who he was. He took the form of a man, but his face was disturbingly featureless. There was nothing where his eyes, nose, and mouth should be.

"You," Kiel growled, lifting his knives. "You're the one who separated Bethany. I knew it!"

"I knew you were more clever than you held yourself accountable for," Nobody said, his mouth opening up when he talked. "You're right. I did. And because of that the fictional world will be better off. To thrive, our world needs isolation. We need to stop relying on these 'authors' who ruin and control our lives."

"You're not helping our world by destroying it," Kiel pointed out.

"Hmm, well, it depends on your view of things," Nobody said simply, walking slowly over to him. "Everyone else will be grateful."

"No, they won't," Kiel said, glancing at his spell book. He considered teleporting away, maybe to where his teacher Abdo was, but it was too risky with Nobody right here. He'd have to do it while Nobody was distracted.

"I'll see about that." The faceless man looked at him with disapproval.

At that moment, Kiel darted for his spell book, ready to cast a spell at a moment's notice. Nobody got to him first.

His tendril-like arms extended outward towards Kiel, wrapping around his waist and trapping his arms. He gasped as the arms lifted him off the ground, squeezing into his stomach.

"Not so brave now, are you Kiel?" the faceless man asked, chuckling to himself.

Kiel tried his best to inhale, but the pressure squeezing his body was too tight. "Let . . . me . . . go . . ."

Nobody shook his head. "Sorry. If you agree to end this foolish quest, I'll let you go. To create a spell that would have enough power to make a portal to the nonfictional world would not only ruin everything for the fictionals, but it would also ruin things for your dear friend Bethany."

He couldn't say anything else without much difficulty, so Kiel remained silent.

"So you see the problem you're stirring up, Kiel?" Nobody asked, walking over to the window. "Both worlds are better off without each other. Us fictionals can finally live without these 'masters' controlling us. This is the start of a new and brighter future. Bethany will forever be grateful now that she's got what she's always wanted: to have her father back."

"No . . . she . . . won't . . ." Kiel gasped, glaring at the man. "I—" He struggled to say more, but the pain in his body was too restricting. He forced a wink, just to assure Nobody that he was going to escape and successfully fight him.

Nobody smiled unemotionally. "I've had enough of the antics of first Owen, then Bethany, and now you trying to stop my plans. You're not going to. None of you are capable."

"Ha!" Kiel exclaimed, grimacing immediately. "That . . . is where . . . you're . . . wrong. We . . . are."

"Although they are incorrect, I understand your beliefs," the faceless man said. "Then I suppose you leave me with no other option."

He gestured, and the world began spinning. A strange, whistling sound could be heard all around them, and Kiel felt his ears ringing. He couldn't even shout as his body felt very heavy, then suddenly very light. It was dizzying. A blur of different colors clouded his vision, forcing him to close his eyes.

When he opened them, he was standing completely alone in a white, empty room.

* * *

Maybe it had only been a few minutes, but it felt like several hours had passed while in the white room. It probably couldn't have passed for a room, either. More like an endless void. Everywhere Kiel looked, there was nothing but white. No matter how far he walked, there was no escape. There was no wall. There wasn't even a door. Not even a single window. Even worse, he felt no hunger, pain, or fatigue. Kiel would've preferred to feel those things. At least he could've focused on that instead of the blank nothingness around him. But one thing was certain: this was obviously a prison.

"HELLO?" Kiel shouted for the hundredth time, waving his arms above his head. "Just so anyone knows, this is so embarrassing that I, Kiel Gnomenfoot, would have to be rescued like this. No, actually, never mind. I've got this handled. I can escape here without any help. I've done it hundreds of times! Thousands!"

When no one answered, he dropped his hands and made a frustrated noise at the back of his throat. "Nobody, you'll need _much_ more than this to keep me locked in."

He sighed and sat on the ground, sprawling his legs out and placing his palms behind him. This definitely was a slight change in plans, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He'd been captured lots of times. This was simply just a . . . malfunction. Once he escaped from here, he'd go back home to research the spell. But the more he thought about it, the less hopeful he was about creating this spell.

He remembered back when the Magister had borrowed some of Bethany's powers, which allowed him to travel to Owen's room and bring him back to their tower. He wondered if maybe he could do something like that, since it seemed to be a little less complicated than creating a spell. Then Kiel remembered about Bethany losing her powers, and he realized how badly that plan wouldn't work. And since Bethany was now split into two halves, there was no easy way to create a link between the fictional and nonfictional worlds. It would have to be a spell. A very powerful one.

"This is certainly going to be a problem," Kiel mumbled to himself, looking up at the whiteness. Time didn't seem to move.

He stared hard at the ground, clenching and unclenching his fists. He tried to think of a spell that might help him escape, but without his spell book he was practically useless. _Useless_ , Kiel thought with a weird feeling of amusement. That word had never been one he'd ever described himself as.

"Hello?" he asked softly. He cleared his throat and spoke louder. "Hello? Is anyone here? Can anyone help me? Can someone let me out?"

No one answered. So he really was alone.

 _Too bad Bethany hadn't stayed with him._

The thought entered his mind sometime around the past days he had spent in the endless void. It was difficult to tell time while he was locked up like this. There wasn't even an indication that showed any time had passed. He began to worry that he'd be stuck here forever.

Shortly after helping Kiel do some research in his spell book, Bethany vanished. They had been staying in his tower for about six days before she left. One night, Kiel was practicing out new spells and she was teasing him each time he didn't get one right. The next morning there was no sign of her, the only indication of her whereabouts being a note, which said that she had cast a portal using the spell book to get back to her own world — her father's world. Although he was disappointed, Kiel didn't blame her for leaving. She wanted to be with her father, not on some mission that she didn't fully believe in. But he was glad that she wasn't there when Nobody had kidnapped him. He probably would've kidnapped her, too, and then the entire plan would be ruined.

Out of nowhere, a strange noise erupted through the quiet white void. Acclimated with the never-ending silence, the boy magician found this very unusual.

The noise happened again. It sounded like a giant piece of paper being ripped at an agonizingly slow pace.

"Hello?" Kiel called, standing up. He prepared to attack, in case the situation called for it. Luckily, he still had his wand-knives with him.

The ripping noise happened again, echoing around the entire room. It continued on and on, growing louder with every passing second, until the sound was so loud that Kiel was forced to cover his ears. Another ripping noise was heard, and a tremor shook the ground as a gigantic _something_ crashed through the void and suddenly appeared in mid-air.

Kiel must've been going crazy. He had to be. If not, there really was a real pirate ship, crew and all, floating in the sky.

"Kid!" A man dressed in leather frantically waved him over. "Get on! We're picking up all the prisoners and getting out of here!"

He continued to stare. This must just be a dream. There was no way this had really just happened.

He watched as a couple of men lowered a long rope until it touched the floor of the void. The man continued to wave, looking impatient. "Hurry! Let's get going. Stop staring and get on."

When Kiel finally got his feet to move, he sprinted to the enormous ship, feeling more than embarrassed that he was unable to escape from Nobody's prison on his own. Maybe if he had spent more time learning mag—

"Hurry up before we face the wrath of the faceless demon!"

"You people sure are impatient!" Kiel muttered as he made it to the rope. He put both hands on it and began to climb, the pirates also pulling at the rope to speed up the process. He made it to the top and stumbled onto the deck. He promptly found himself being easily lifted into the air and set back down onto the wooden deck. He looked around at his saviors, who appeared to be about twenty pirates, along with a mishmash of other people who Nobody had imprisoned. All of them looked desperate, and as for some, maybe even a little stir-crazy.

"Are you okay?"

He turned to see a dark-skinned man, who looked a bit friendlier compared to his fellow pirates. Kiel nodded, smiling gratefully. "I'm much better now, thanks. Hey, how did you guys even get out of the white void?"

"We tried every method," said the man, suppressing a shudder. "It's better if you don't know the details."

"All hands on deck! Get ready for the next stop! You, pull those sails up! You, tie those ropes! You three, get the cannon ready!" A heavy-set, bearded pirate, who looked like he was the captain, was shouting orders left and right, holding a long sword above his head.

Kiel watched for a moment as the crew sprang into action. Everyone seemed to be busy doing something important to prepare their ship. Beside him, the man hurried over to the ship's wheel at the other side of the deck. Without meaning to, Kiel followed.

"Hey, if you want to steer the ship too, be my guest," the man said in a joking tone, looking at the boy magician. He placed both hands on the wheel and began slowly turning it in the opposite direction. Kiel stumbled sideways and almost fell over the side, but quickly caught himself. He placed both hands on a rope to steady himself, and turned back to the man.

"So, Nobody locked you up too?"

"Yeah." He briefly looked at Kiel, seeming kind of distracted. "It's a world of bad guys here. Nobody is the worst of them all."

Kiel nodded. "He's kind of annoying like that. He definitely isn't very popular. He get's around a lot, huh? But he's evil and scheming, and I have to say if I wasn't worried before I'm a lot more concerned no—"

"Good!" the pirate captain barked. "Now, let's put this ship in a straight line, you useless lot! Full speed ahead!"

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Why do you want to know?" The man stared straight ahead, but he looked amused.

"I just want to know," Kiel said, glancing at the white nothingness before them. "Might as well have a conversation. I was just rescued from a prison that had no one to talk to."

"You must annoy some people back home."

He shrugged. "It's all part of my charm. That's what my former teacher — the Magister — said."

The man turned, looking shocked. "Did you say the Magister?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I, well, when the entire crew was taken by Nobody into this prison, I saw your Magister. He was using magic to help Nobody."

Kiel scrunched his eyebrows. "He was? That doesn't sound right. Last time I checked he was in his study. But he did turn evil for a short time because he wanted to take over the nonfictional world."

The man gave him a confused look. "Nonfictional . . . world?"

He winced. He had accidentally broken his own rule. "Did Nobody tell you anything before he imprisoned you?"

"He told us that he was rebuilding every world until they fit his exact needs, and anyone who doesn't agree with him or join his side will be locked up. He said that he's wiping everything out and starting fresh, and he's making it into something called 'pure possibility'. He already started doing it everywhere. I noticed a few days ago that some of the ocean was starting to vanish."

"Vanish?" Kiel whispered. This was much worse than he thought. He had to get home immediately. He had to finish that spell and reconnect Bethany's halves before it was too late.

"Yeah, like _poof_. Gone. There's nothing there but this white mist," the man said quietly. "It's happening very slowly, but I know it's because of this Nobody creature."

"This is so bad," Kiel said, lifting a hand to massage his forehead. "Really bad."

"I know."

The pirate captain bellowed an order that Kiel couldn't make out, and each person immediately latched onto the nearest object. The whole ship starting vibrating, and the loudest noise he had ever heard echoed all around them. The ship groaned, and it felt like they were being pulled towards something like a magnet. He realized the man beside him was yelling.

"What?" Kiel shouted. Both of his hands were clamped over his ears.

The man repeated himself, but he still couldn't hear. He leaned closer and shouted again. "Hold onto something, boy! Or you'll be sucked into who-knows-where!"

Realizing his mistake, Kiel quickly lifted his hands and grabbed the side of the ship. Once he got a good grip, he watched the white nothingness with a growing feeling of uneasiness. He bent slightly over and planted both feet firmly on the ground, in case he lost his balance again. The ripping sound was growing louder with every passing second. Slowly, the room around them began rippling, and without warning the ship lurched forward at a high speed. Everyone was clinging for their life to anything within arms reach as the ship broke through the barrier of Nobody's prison. Everything was moving so fast that even the whiteness seemed to streak past them. Just as quickly as it had sped up, the ship slowed down within a second. When it was over, they found themselves in a dimly-lit castle with extremely tall walls, which had to be none other then Nobody's residence.

Kiel was breathing heavily. He slowly removed his hands from their death grip on the ship's rail. He looked around and noticed the others seemed to be a little dazed too, and many were struggling to stand. It was one thing hearing and seeing this happen, but it was entirely another thing to be a part of it! If he hadn't gone through hyperspace before, he definitely would've felt sick by now.

Beside him, the man was looking a little queasy. He continued holding the wheel with one hand, and with the other he clutched his stomach.

Kiel leaned down. He couldn't help but automatically wink. "Whoa. You're meaning to tell me you've never jumped through hyperspace before?"

"So far?" He counted on his fingers. "Six times. My stomach's reaction is always the same. We've been rescuing people back and forth for the past — I don't know — day and a half?"

"Maybe you should sit down."

"No, no." The man waved him off and he stepped back. "We're supposed to keep working until we rescue every captured person. No time for breaks with Nobody lurking nearby."

Kiel nodded. The last thing anyone wanted was to get captured again. "So, what's your name?"

"You _still_ want to know?"

He nodded again. Vigorously. "Why wouldn't I?"

The man glanced over at the pirates before looking back at Kiel. "Okay. My name is Elijah."

"I'm Kiel Gnomenfoot." They shook hands.

"Hey!" the pirate captain yelled, stomping over to them. He was like a full foot taller than Kiel. "Back to work, you filthy rat! I don't want to see you conversing with anyone else but your captain! You don't get payed to take a vacation! And that goes for the rest of you — get back to work!"

When he stormed off and started shouting orders, Kiel made a face. "That was rude. I can turn him into a hat, if you want."

Elijah shook his head, straightening up. He walked over to a knotted rope and began retying it. "No thanks, Kiel. I'm indebted to him. I owe him everything."

"What do you mean?"

"He saved my family's life. So in return I have to serve on his ship until my debt is paid off."

Kiel's eyes widened. "How many years have you been here?"

He sighed tiredly. "Maybe twenty-five or twenty-four? I haven't really counted."

"You have been in this ship for that long? And you haven't been able to talk to anyone but _him_?"

"Well, I talk to other people sometimes," Elijah said. "I used to even write letters to my family. But he forbade me from it, since he thought it was distracting me from my work. That's just how it is around here."

"But don't you want to just blow his ship up?" Kiel asked, an excited glint in his eyes. "You wouldn't have to deal with him ever again. Or this ship. _And_ I can do it for you if you're too afraid."

He shook his head and went back over to the wheel. "No. This is all I have. Once I'm done serving him, I can go live with my family again."

"But —"

"I'm serious. I'm happy where I am." His tone told Kiel he was done talking about this, but his expression told him that he wasn't happy.

Kiel frowned, glancing over his shoulder. Everyone was busy preparing the ship again for the next rescue. Within a few minutes, the ship began to move again, and he held onto the nearest railing as the same process happened again. For the next few hours, they went from destination to destination, rescuing each fictional person from Nobody's prison. Kiel recognized a few of the creatures from some of his previous quests.

The last prisoner they rescued was a dark-skinned girl, looking about Kiel's age. She was wearing a green superhero outfit, long gloves, goggles, and her curly black hair was in a ponytail. She was smiling as she shimmied up the rope and planted both feet on the deck of the ship.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting that."

Some of the pirates grumbled tiredly in response. Others just glared. It seemed like everyone was in a bad mood.

"Last one!" the pirate captain shouted. "Let's get out of here before that faceless demon finds us! Full speed ahead!"

There were a chorus of "yes sir's" as the crew burst into action for a final round, everyone intent on escaping and going back to their respective worlds.

"Wait!" Kiel said, rushing down the stairs and over to him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Elijah giving him a warning look. "Don't we want to blow his place up? You know, with those cannons? It would be an awesome explosion."

"No one tells me what to do," he spat. Then he laughed. "Especially not a little boy. My ship, my rules. We're getting out of this place before he comes back."

Kiel was really tempted now to turn him into a hat. If only he had relearned the spell beforehand. He placed both hands on his twin wand-knives, just in case he actually got the chance to fight the man. He didn't know why Elijah didn't want him to just fix the issue. The fight would be both easy and fun, so it wasn't like that part was a problem.

"I totally second that," a voice said. He whirled around, only to see the girl.

"Oh, I know," Kiel said with a grin. "How hard is it to blow Nobody's place up? If only Nobody was here, though. It would be cool to watch his face."

She laughed. "Yeah. I think he deserves a taste of his own medicine for a change. After my friend turned into a thousand light particles, Nobody captured me. We tried saving her, but I think he got to her first."

"Really? Maybe she's in the prison."

She shook her head. "I don't think so. The pirate captain said I'm the last person they're rescuing. She's not here."

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine. I'm sure she'll be okay. She's great at handling herself." The girl smiled again.

 _She definitely is the most optimistic one here_ , Kiel thought.

"What's your name?" she asked. "I'm Gwen. That's my real name. My superhero name is Earthgirl. I recently just discovered that there are so many other worlds outside of mine! I never could've dreamed that there would be other places."

He nodded. "Me too. I only knew Magisteria and Quanterium before I . . ." He quickly cut himself off. He didn't want to scare people off by talking about the nonfictional world. "I'm Kiel."

Gwen's eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open. "Kiel? Kiel Gnomenfoot?"

"You know me?" Owen and Bethany were right — he was more famous then he gave himself credit for!

"You're Betha—"

"Enough with the chitchat!" the pirate captain's voice boomed. He looked pointedly at Kiel and Gwen, who were the only ones doing nothing. "Everyone, prepare for our last trip!"

"Hold on to something," Kiel instructed, recalling how sickening each trip out of the white void was. He ran over to the stairwell and made his way back to the upstairs deck, Gwen following close at his heels. He latched onto a masthead, and she held onto a rope. The white void began rippling once again, and the loud ripping noise rang in Kiel's ears as the ship darted forward. After what felt like forever, the ship slowed to a stop, and they were back in Nobody's residence.

There was no sign of the faceless humanoid creature anywhere. Kiel considered going against the pirate captain's orders and blowing a few holes in the place, just for fun. But before he got the chance, the pirate crew beat him to it. They started loading up cannons and fired them into the wall, until a large chunk of it fell to the ground. The ship floated out, back into the outside world. They were met with thousands of beautiful, rolling hills that stretched on for miles. But the strangest part was that on each hill was a glowing portal, and on the other side of each one was a different location. Kiel realized that Nobody must've set up these portals so he could travel between any book of his choosing.

This was not good. At all.

"He could destroy each world so much faster this way," Kiel said, his heart sinking.

"Or capture people," Gwen said, sliding up beside him. "He's obviously planning on taking over the world. All of our worlds."

"I can't let him do that."

"What do you mean?" She gave him a confused look. "We don't know any way to stop him."

"I think I do," he said firmly. "I'm going to create a powerful spell. I just hope it'll work."

Gwen patted him on the shoulder. "I bet it will. You're Kiel, Bethany's friend. You're like, a magician."

It was his turn to be confused. "Wait, you know Bethany? Bethany Sanderson?"

"Yeah! She's my best friend. And uh, your's too, I guess. She's the one who turned into millions of light particles."

"It's impossible to turn into millions of light particles," Elijah called back from his spot on the ship's wheel, without turning around.

Kiel ignored him. He was too busy feeling amazed, trying to imagine Bethany turning into light. "How did she do that?"

"Charm gave her these new shapeshifting powers to fight against the Dark. She used them to turn into light as a last resort."

"Wait — Charm?" So this was what he'd been missing out on for the past few months? Ridiculous. He should've been invited.

"Yeah!" She squinted at him. "Didn't Bethany tell you? Oh, wait. Never-mind. You weren't there. Well, I hope she's okay. I'm sure she made it out alive."

Alive, yes. Still half-fictional? Definitely not.

"Yeah." He nodded, a sick feeling in his gut. "She'll be fine."

The ship continued gliding forward in mid-air for a few hundred yards. When they finally got to where the thousands of portals were, the pirate captain dropped a rope and ordered everyone to climb down.

"Now!" he shouted. "Crew, go split up and find the portal for our world. As for our guests, you can find your respective worlds on your own. Let's get moving! I'm leaving you all behind if you don't keep up!"

"I really am tempted to turn him into something," Kiel told Elijah, who was walking beside him. "You should let me. It would be completely painless for him."

Elijah shook his head, but chuckled. "No, Kiel."

"Why would you want to turn him into something?" Gwen whispered. "He saved us!"

"I'll explain later," he whispered back. He watched as everyone began splitting up, each searching for the portal that would lead to their world. He was glad that he had met Gwen and Elijah. Maybe they could even help him with saving Bethany!

As they wandered around the field of portals, an idea slowly formed in Kiel's head. It was an amazing idea. One that neither of them could possibly refuse.

"Gwen," he said. "You want to help Bethany, right?"

She looked at him. "Of course! Is that even a question?"

He grinned. "Okay. And Elijah, you want to get away from this evil pirate captain who you're indebted to?"

Elijah gave him an uneasy look. "Whatever you're thinking, stop thinking it. I'm not leaving."

"I'm not forcing you to leave," Kiel stated. "I'm just asking. I've been trying to create this spell, but so far it's been tricky."

"What does the spell do?" Elijah asked.

"It's supposed to take me to a different world. I started researching about two weeks ago, but my spell book isn't acting like it usually does. It's also been difficult because I'm trying to relearn magic."

Gwen frowned. "What does this spell have to do with Bethany?"

"Who's Bethany?" Elijah questioned.

"Bethany is my friend," he said quickly. "And she's kind of . . . in trouble. I need to create this spell to save her. It's a little complicated. Nothing I can't handle myself. But . . . it would be nice to have assistance."

"I thought you said that you hadn't seen Bethany in a while," Gwen said. "So she's in even more trouble? More trouble than exploding into millions of light particles?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "But the only way I can help her is with this spell. So, are you in?"

She looked around. "I want to help. I really, really do. But I've been gone from my planet for a while. And I'm not sure if there's much I can do. I don't know anything about magic."

"You could still help Bethany," Kiel offered. "You don't have to be good at magic to do that."

"I don't know," she said. Then she brightened. "But maybe once you've created this spell I can help! I'm against violence, but if you need to fight evil, I can definitely help you out."

He winked. "That's the fun part."

He noticed that Elijah remained very quiet, but he didn't want to force his new friend to help him unless he really wanted to. They were trudging up and down a few more hills before Gwen called out and pointed. "Hey, there's my planet!"

They turned to where her finger was extended, only to see a green planet behind the portal.

"This is where you live?" Kiel asked. To be honest, he was a little surprised. The planet looked deserted.

"Yeah," she said wistfully. "It'll definitely be weird going back home."

She turned back to them and smiled. "Well, see you guys! If you need my help later, Kiel, you know where to find me."

Kiel watched as she began running to her portal, jumping straight through it without a second of hesitation. Next to him, a smile formed on Elijah's lips. "She's very cheerful for someone who was just kidnapped by Nobody."

"Wouldn't you be if you just escaped?"

He sighed. "I'm relieved that we escaped from Nobody's prison. But I'm not so ecstatic to go back home. For years, working on that ship is all I've had. But now I wonder if there really are other options."

"Of course there are!" Kiel turned to him, feeling hopeful. In his most convincing tone, he continued. "Elijah, you can be whatever you want. You don't have to be indepped —"

"Indebted."

"— to this guy! You can come with me. You'll never have to see them again. You can finally see your family. I'll make sure you do."

He frowned, looking around at the various portals. "I don't know . . . it would be nice, though. But this is how my life has been since I was a little boy. I don't think it's that simple to leave."

"Elijah!" one of the pirates called from a few hills away, waving him over. The rest of the pirates were walking into a portal, one by one. "We found our portal! You don't get payed to stand there! Let's go! If you don't get over here now, we're dragging you with us!"

Kiel thought about the way he felt when he discovered that authors were in charge of his entire life, controlling his every move. He had eventually come to terms with it, but he dissuaded himself from the truth, by telling himself that authors could only see into his world, not control it. It didn't bother him as much as it used to, but Kiel still knew that no one liked being controlled.

He grabbed Elijah's arm before he could move. "You can't let them boss you around. It's your life! Don't let someone else control you."

Elijah nervously glanced back and forth from the group to him. He began edging towards the pirates, shaking his head. "I can't —"

Suddenly, the ground shook violently beneath them. Kiel almost lost his footing, but his friend grabbed him before he could fall. The ground continued shaking, causing each portal to vibrate and ripple. The remaining pirates shouted in alarm and cowered back from their portal, pointing swords at it.

"What's going on?" Kiel shouted.

His question was answered as Nobody himself walked out of one of the portals, looking furious. "You think you can escape? Nice try, but I think I'll have to put you back where you belong."

He thrust a hand out and seized a nearby person around the neck. In an instant, the person disappeared. Everyone gasped.

"There you go. Back to my prison, where you're supposed to be," Nobody said, wiping his hands. "Who's next?"

He started running at an impossibly fast speed and grabbed another person before they could jump into a portal. They disappeared just as quickly. Screams were heard in the distance as Nobody zipped from one person to the next, sending each of them back to his prison. Everyone scattered, and many of the remaining uncaptured people dived into random portals.

"We need to go," Elijah ordered. "We need to go, Kiel. Now!"

Kiel had a lot of pent-up anger still about Nobody hurting Bethany and splitting her in half. Although he really felt like fighting Nobody, he also didn't want to be put back into prison. So together, they ran as fast as they could up and down each hill, searching wildly for the right portal. Somewhere to the left, something caught his eye. It was another glowing portal, which looked exactly the same as the others, but the location looked familiar. In it was a tall, brick tower in the deep woods, labeled "Magisteria".

"There!" Kiel shouted, frantically tapping Elijah's arm and pointing with his other hand. They raced down the hill and climbed back up another one. They reached the top, panting heavily.

"This is your home?" Elijah asked, peering at it. "Are you sure it's the right —"

"I'm sure! We need to go!"

"Kiel Gnomenfoot!" Nobody's voice boomed across the entire field, sending the grass rippling. He appeared right in front of them, completely blocking the portal. "I don't think that's a good idea, do you?"

He pointed at Elijah, who looked shell-shocked. "This man is a servant, and he will be until his debt is paid in his own story! Just as I have safety locked you up for the good of everyone, you are about to cause even more chaos for me."

"Elijah is my friend!" Kiel said, glaring at Nobody. "And I'm not going to let you ruin my plans, either. I'm saving Bethany. If you want to fight me, all you have to do is ask. I'd be glad to do so. I'll even go easy on you so it'll be a fair fight."

"Don't be stupid," Elijah muttered. "He can easily kill you with an attitude like that."

Nobody laughed. "He's right. I can kill you. That is, if you continue to defy me." He stepped closer to them and narrowed his eyes. "But I'm being generous by locking you into this prison. You won't have any reason to cause trouble, and I won't have anyone working against me, so we'll both be happy."

"I doubt that," Kiel said, slowly sliding his hand into his pocket. "I think that you're going to let us go."

Nobody raised his eyebrows, stopping in his tracks. "And what makes you say that?"

He quickly muttered a spell and thrust a glowing hand into the faceless man. The spell hit Nobody dead-on, and he stumbled a bit, his eyes glazing over.

"What did you do?" Elijah asked, a toothy grin forming on his face.

"For the next ten minutes, he's forced to do whatever I say. If he tries to refuse, he'll feel an unpleasant burning sensation." Kiel couldn't help but chuckle. "I can't believe it worked. This is the first time in a while that my spell has worked without having my spell book nearby."

Nobody straightened back up, hatred in his eyes. He was motionless except for his face, which was an expression of anger. "How dare you use a spell to control me! You shouldn't have even gotten the chance to cast that spell."

"My first order for you is that you'll never set foot in my world again," Kiel stated. "And you'll stop capturing people."

Nobody growled, his nostrils flaring. "How _dare_ you —"

He thought for a moment. "You're not allowed to stop me from creating my spell. And you're not allowed to stop me from going to the nonfictional world. And once I rejoin Bethany's two halves, don't try to separate her again."

The faceless man didn't say anything, but he was breathing heavily, looking angrier by the second. He tried to move his body, and grew even more frustrated when he remained in the same spot. He glowered at them. "I will find you, Kiel Gnomenfoot! You'll regret ever casting this spell!"

"I don't think I will," he replied, winking. He stepped around Nobody and entered the portal. Instantly, he was standing back in front of his tower, surrounded by a mass of trees. After a moment of hesitation, Elijah followed. The portal closed up behind them, leaving an enraged Nobody behind.

"Remind me to bring you everywhere I need to go," Elijah said with a laugh. He was busy looking around at the scenery. He brushed his hand along the bark of a nearby tree. "Your magic is a life-saver."

Kiel looked around his shoulder, straightening out his cloak. "I'm surprised it worked at all. I just started learning magic a few months ago. I used to be good at it, but I've gotten much weaker."

"We're lucky it did. If your magic really was weak, we would be back in that prison." He looked down at him. "Thank you, Kiel. I mean it. I can be free, now."

The boy smiled. "No need to thank me. By the way, you aren't dressed for Magisteria. At all. Do you want a cloak like mine? Or maybe some new pants?"

Elijah laughed and looked down at his own dirty, ill-fitting clothes. "I didn't know I'd be entering a fashion contest."

Kiel gestured at the tower. "Want to go inside?"

"Sure. After you."

* * *

"And, uh . . . what's this?" Kiel asked, holding up a small green plant stem. He had to admit: he wasn't an expert at all when it came to plants. He had never even been anywhere tropical before. He didn't know a place like this existed in his world.

"It's thyme," Abdo said. "It grows from the ground."

"And, this?" He plucked a green leaf from a bush.

His new magister looked at him. "Kiel, my young apprentice. It's good to be curious. There are always new things to learn. But when the time comes, you must use your knowledge."

"I am — I'm trying to." Kiel huffed. "But what does that have to do with these plants?"

"These plants are part of my special recipe. I'm making an ointment that won't wear off once you go on your mission — for healing purposes."

He nodded appreciatively. "Smart. I never would've thought of that."

"That's because you're young," Abdo said, taking the cut-up thyme and sprinkling it into the mixing bowl. "But you'll learn. Once you have a real near-death experience."

"I've had many real near-death experiences!" Kiel scoffed, feeling defensive. "I'm a hero. You think I haven't?"

"You've only been going on these quests of yours for a year. Give it time. In five years, you'll have even more experience."

"Hmm." Kiel watched him pluck leaves off of a nearby bush and grind them on the table until it looked like green dust.

After a while of watching him and commenting on each plant every now and then, Kiel lost interest and walked out of the greenhouse. Almost a full week had gone by since he escaped from Nobody's time prison. When he and Elijah arrived, there was a note from Abdo, showing Kiel the directions to Abdo's hideout and instructing him to teleport there.

As far as Kiel knew, he appeared on a deserted tropical island where Abdo's main study was. It was there that Kiel filled his new magister in about his plan to create the spell, vaguely mentioning that a friend of his was in danger. He didn't say anything about this being the fictional world, because he didn't want to scare him off. Really, he had no choice. After being captured by Nobody, Abdo wouldn't let Kiel stay in the hideout without an explanation.

Elijah had decided to stay behind. He didn't want to interfere too much with Kiel's outside life, which he understood. They were from different worlds and he didn't fully understand everything about Kiel's world, although he had explained (in great detail) the rivalrous story of Magisteria and Quanterium to the man. He also had made sure to explain the nonfictional world to him, and the importance of bringing Bethany's two halves back together. Elijah said that he would spend the alone time getting to know Kiel's world and learning some things about magic.

He tried to imagine what it would be like once this spell was finally completed. The moment felt forever away. He wished he could have it over with already, so he wouldn't have to do all this preparation and research. It was difficult, but if he didn't do it he would never be able to get to the nonfictional world.

He entertained himself by practicing some magic as he wandered down the hallway, observing all of the interesting magical items his teacher owned. He had never met anyone else who practiced magic besides the Magister. It was nice to see the handiwork of other older magicians.

"Kiel!" Abdo called from the other room. "I'm finished with the ointment."

"Okay!"

He walked back over to the greenhouse, where Abdo was patiently waiting next to the wall. The healing ointment, which was a vibrant green color, was in a small jar on the cutting board. He picked it up and observed it closely. "How does it work?"

"You're not supposed to eat it, if that's what you're wondering," his teacher said with the wisp of a smile. "It's a paste. If you get injured, all you need to do is rub it into the wound, and you'll be healed instantly."

Kiel stuffed the ointment into his pocket. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me. All I hope is that you don't have to use it." He waved Kiel to the door. "You should get going, now. No time to waste on this spell. I'll stop by every now and then to help you with research."

He edged out of the room. "I really don't think I need much help with that part. But if it makes you feel better to help me, you can."

Abdo sighed, following him out the door. "Kiel, when can you admit that you need some help? You're a twelve year old boy. It's simply not easy to create a spell by yourself at that age."

Kiel shrugged. "I've been relearning magic. It'll take a little time, that's all."

"More than a little time. Creating a spell is harder than you imagine, especially when this spell is creating a link to a world that we ourselves cannot simply teleport to." He stepped a few feet away from his apprentice. "I'll stop by sometime in a week."

Seeing his cue, Kiel said good-bye and teleported back home.

* * *

 **A few years later**

"Hey, Kiel! Get over here and say hello!"

As always, the boy magician was absorbed in his spell-making. He felt like the only thing he did nowadays was research, write notes, and cast spells. He loved the occasional trips he went on a few times every month. A year ago, when he was fourteen, he had gone on a cross-country trip for a few months to seek out any magical individuals who had advice on how to create a powerful spell. He received different but helpful advice from everyone he met, although some of them called him crazy (and insisted he should try looking the specific spell up in his spell book, which he had already done many times). He had also contacted Bethany a couple of times, and through letters he was able to learn about her father and the world she lived in. She always seemed to be having fun with stopping crime and fighting evil, which Kiel was envious of. He wanted to do those things too. But he needed to finish the spell and reunite Bethany's two halves before anything else.

Kiel stretched out his legs, and walked out of his study, into Elijah's room. They had become close friends over the past three years, and they were practically brothers since they had similar personalities. Elijah had decided to learn magic, and insisted on staying to help Kiel with his research. For the first year of his stay however, he spent majority of his time talking with his family, who he hadn't seen in nearly thirty years.

With the help of magic, Kiel had gotten Elijah a magical mirror, which allowed him to contact his family. This allowed the man to contact his family directly through their own mirror. Since Elijah didn't get the chance to visit them, he called them nearly every night to make up for the lost time. This was the only way of contact, since Kiel didn't know any way of how to move between worlds on his own.

Elijah decided to live with Kiel since it was more convenient, and they went on many quests and studied different forms of magic. It was completely appalling to Kiel that he had even wanted to roommate with him instead of trying to find his family in the first place!

Currently, Elijah had the magical hand-held mirror was in his right hand, and he was telling his family about his day. On the other side of the mirror was a man and women, between sixty or seventy years old. Peering over their shoulder was a girl with unruly dark hair, who looked to be around twenty. Kiel had spoken to them with Elijah a total of four times, and was overwhelmed by how friendly and loving they were towards him. Usually, people were just irritated or in awe by him.

"And, so —" Elijah continued, and then he lifted his eyes to see Kiel standing in the doorway. "Kiel! There you are." He looked back at his family. "Finally he's taking a break from his research. He's been at it all day."

The women, Margarite, smiled. "That's good to hear that he's engaged in his work. But everyone needs a nice break. How are you, Kiel Gnomenfoot? It feels like I haven't talked to you in nearly a year!"

Kiel smiled and winked at Elijah's family. "Pretty good . . . and busy, as usual. How is everything with your farm?"

"It's going great," exclaimed Elijah's sister, Ruth. "Everything is moving along and we're making more money this year."

"That's awesome. Farming sounds so boring. Why spend the time making plants grow when you can easily use magic for that?"

"Farming is hard work!" Ruth protested. "It's very satisfying to grow your own food and grow food for others. Magic can't give you that."

"I'm sure it can."

Elijah shot him a look. "Anyways. Look at him! He's a growing boy, now. Fifteen years old. Strong, strapping lad. Well, he's kind of skinny, but . . ."

"Not as skinny as when we first met him," his father, John, laughed.

"Hey!" Kiel exclaimed. "I'm not that skinny. And I don't know why you act like it's a bad thing."

"Are you almost done your spell, Kiel?" Elijah's mom asked politely.

The smile vanished from his face. "I don't know . . . it's been taking so much time. My spell book still isn't cooperating, so I've been trying to write a spell using some lines from other similar spells about teleportation."

"I'm sure you'll get it soon. You've been working hard."

"Yeah, he's always talking my ear off, so when he's not I can tell he's stressed," Elijah said. "And he's certainly been quiet all day!"

"I'm right here!" Kiel said, crossing his arms.

"I know." He laughed. "I just enjoy telling my family all about you." He glanced at his family. "He's like the little annoying brother I've never had, I'm telling you."

The boy magician snickered, said good-night to Elijah's family, and went back to his study. He was so beyond frustrated at how long this was taking. Why couldn't his spell book just give him the spell, like it usually did? Was it that difficult to create a portal to a place that was unreachable? Did it really have to take three entire years — maybe even longer for him to get it right? He sat down at his desk, twirling his wand knives in his hand and thinking about each spell he had gone over. He had them memorized by heart now. He knew everything about the portal spell and the teleportation spell, along with any other traveling spell, but he knew nothing about one specifically that would take him to the nonfictional world.

He wasn't used to failing, but he had many times in the past few years. Everything used to be so easy and effortless. Not that he was being cocky about it, but it really had been easy back then. All he did now was study and learn new spells, and there was nothing fun about studying the same spells over and over.

Several times he had almost given up, but the thought of saving Bethany is what drove his determination. He was a hero. He had to save her and he had to save the world before Nobody's 'pure possibility' wiped everything out.

Speaking of Nobody, the white nothingness had begun to slowly make parts of each world vanish. If he failed, his world would be destroyed. He had no idea what would happen if he didn't create this spell, but he didn't want to find out. Every single fictional world would vanish, and Nobody would be the ruler. Above all, that was the worst possible outcome out of any of this.

Kiel opened his spell book and read through every spell he could find, trying to find anything that could be useful. Since there were millions of spells to choose from, he had studied as many as he could, and had practiced them all various times. He had gotten much better at his spell-casting; even better than he'd been when he was twelve, since he was practicing so often.

Then suddenly, everything came to him all at once, like a train hitting him square in the face; that was how he felt, because a physical force felt like it had pushed him onto the ground. Wincing, he held his head in his hands as a surge of ideas barreled into him, and all of the sudden he knew everything he needed to. He pushed himself off the ground and ran across the room, grabbing a parchment paper. He ran back to his desk and began to write. He wrote lines, erased them, and rewrote them again. His mind was a blur. He envisioned combining each spell he had researched into one whole spell. He imagined the spell taking him to the nonfictional world and breaking the barrier between the two worlds, so that they could be connected again. He couldn't see the things he wrote down, but his hand continued to scribble the words, as if it had a mind of it's own. He didn't stop writing, even when his hand began to ache. He wrote long into the night, until something told him the spell was finished. He released his grip on the pencil, sending it clattering to the floor. He picked up the parchment paper with both hands, eyes wild as they darted back and forth between every line, surveying the finished spell.

"It's done," Kiel whispered. Shock, followed by joy coursed through his veins.

"It's done!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, not even caring who heard him. He shot out of his seat, gently placing the spell down on the table. Three years. Three years of research and memorizing spells and asking for help and attempting to write the spell but failing. In a span of two hours, he had written it. Finally, it was done. His hands tingled with excitement. He was going to the nonfictional world. He was finally going to save Bethany.

Footsteps echoed down the hall, and a bleary-eyed Elijah opened the door. He yawned. "Kiel? Did you get attacked?"

"No!" Kiel shouted, causing the man to flinch. "I'm done the spell! I wrote it!"

Despite his exhaustion, a smile formed on Elijah's face. "That's wonderful! I knew I never was much help. You're the powerful magician here."

The boy magician slowly picked up his newly-written spell, feeling as though it was very fragile. "It's weird. I spent three years on this and . . . it's only about twenty lines. It just came to me, and then I knew exactly what to write."

Elijah shrugged, still smiling. "I don't think the length matters. What matters is whether it works or not. You want to cast it tomorrow?"

Kiel set the parchment down again. He felt nervous all of the sudden. He would be seeing his best friends, Owen and Bethany, again. Most importantly, he would be saving Bethany, along with the fictional world. He hadn't seen her nonfictional half yet. "I think so. I need to pack everything first. I don't even know how long this will take."

"Good idea. Now you should get to bed! It's windy outside. I bet a stiff breeze will blow your skinny body out of the tower."

He laughed. "I am not that skinny."

"I bet that's why you wear your cloak," Elijah said, smiling. "To cover up your tall body and skinny arms."

Kiel scoffed, pushing past him in the doorway to get to his room. "Cloaks are cool. I wear them because they make me look awesome."

"Ha. Okay, but I don't think you have many people to impress! And most importantly, this nonfictional world you're going to doesn't have the same fashion sense as you, so I suggest you pack some other clothes."

"You're right." He nodded, and removed his black cloak and gloves. "See? This looks normal."

"I'd say that looks good," Elijah commented, putting a hand on his chin. "And still fashionable. But are those really your only clothes?"

Kiel nodded again, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course!"

"Uh huh. Well, maybe you shouldn't wear only that. Got to impress Bethany somehow, eh?"

"Impress her? Why would I need to do _that_?"

* * *

Sunlight filtered in through the windows, giving the tower a warm and hazy glow. A soft breeze blew into it, ruffling some of the papers scattered around the study. There was a brown shoulder bag on the desk, which was half-way filled with supplies for the trip. Kiel's flying cat, Alphonse, was looking bored as it licked it's paw.

"You almost packed?"

"Almost!" Kiel entered the room again, carrying his healing ointment and a bag of medical supplies. He wanted to be prepared for this trip, just in case his magic stopped working when he got there. He stuffed the supplies into his bag and double-checked to make sure his spell book was still in there. He ran back out of the room and grabbed a jug of water and some food, and placed that in his bag as well.

"Okay," he announced, closing his bag and slinging it across his shoulder. "I'm ready."

He had made an effort to dress more like the nonfictionals' dressed. Instead of his usual outfit, he had officially ditched his cloak, gloves, and boots (which he magically changed into Adidas sneakers). He still was wearing all black, but he didn't think that would be much of an issue. He observed himself in the mirror, making sure nothing about his outfit screamed "I'm Kiel Gnomenfoot!", which was a problem that happened the first time he came to the nonfictional world. Feeling satisfied, he adjusted the bag's strap on his shoulder and picked up the written spell.

Elijah entered the room, looking wide-awake although it was very early in the morning. He spotted the parchment in Kiel's hand and sighed, offering him a reassuring smile. "I guess this is where you test it out."

"Yeah. It should work. I know it will. I've gotten much better at spell-casting, so this should be easy, right? I've been working on it for years. This spell will be cast in a minute, and I'll be out of here in no time to save Bethany! And our world," Kiel said, feeling jittery. Holding up the spell at eye-level, he began to recite it. It took a few minutes, because the words he had written were easy to trip over.

"Don't talk so fast," Elijah interjected half-way through the spell. "You aren't at a race."

He frowned. "I'm doing awesome."

"I never said you weren't!"

He lifted the paper back up, taking a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. He had to get this right. He began to recite the spell again, slower this time. He made sure to pronounce each word as clearly as possible. When he was done, he lifted his eyes from the parchment expectantly. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the ground shifted and a low, humming noise filled the room. In the center of the room, a large force field of energy appeared, humming and vibrating with power. The force field of energy shifted and re-formed into a circle that closely resembled something more like a portal. Just by looking at it, Kiel could tell this was much more powerful than any portal he'd ever seen.

"It worked!" Elijah shouted over the noise, looking ecstatic. "This was all you, Kiel!"

"I can't believe it." Well, he kind of could. He already knew that he was amazing at casting spells, but this amazing? Kiel grinned, taking a few steps towards the portal. Unlike most portals, there wasn't any indication of a location on the other side. Only a glowing field of energy.

He turned back to Elijah. "Do you think it'll take me there?"

His friend nodded vigorously. "Of course! You worked hard to make this spell. I'm sure it will."

"Are you sure you don't want to come?"

He shook his head. "This is your quest. But I'll be here, if you need anything."

Kiel was a little disappointed at that, but he couldn't stop smiling either way. He had created the most powerful spell and it worked! Well — sort of. Now all he needed to do was walk through and see where it took him. He said good-bye to Elijah, gave him a quick hug, and stood back in front of the portal.

"Go," he whispered to himself. Taking a deep breath, Kiel closed his eyes and walked inside. He was met with indescribable energy. It vibrated through his entire body, causing him to shake uncontrollably. At one point he attempted to open his eyes, but the glow that was inside the portal blinded him, so he squeezed them shut again. He was only in the portal for about five seconds before his eyes opened again and he saw his destination.

He took a staggering step out of the portal, completely blinded by the sudden brightness all around him. A bitter, freezing wind tore through his clothes, which made him wonder if he'd calculated the wrong area. He felt incredibly sick, and his body was still shaking violently. His vision began to blacken around the edges, and his eyes rolled back into his head. He tipped sideways into the snow.

* * *

 _"Never be enough, I'm the prodigal son. I was born to run, I was born for this . . ."_

 **A/N - So writing this chapter actually took me a really long time, maybe almost a month bc I kept gathering new ideas but the whole process was SO fun. I love writing in Kiel's POV it's really just so cool. And also adding new characters is fun too, but I realized that usually people don't like when new characters are added into fanfics, so I made sure to have only a minimum of three or so new characters that I'm adding.**

 **Comment your thoughts/theories/ideas/feedback on this chapter! Did Kiel made it to the nonfictional world? Idk I guess you'll find out in the next chapter!I hope you enjoyed :)**


	7. Back To The Real World

_**Silhouette (by Aquilo)**_

 _"Devil's on your shoulder, strangers in your head. As if you don't remember, as if you can't forget. Only been a moment, only been a lifetime. But tonight you're a stranger, some silhouette . . ."_

* * *

"Oh my . . . good heavens . . . what is the meaning of . . ."

Kiel's eyes fluttered open at the sound of heavy footsteps and a woman's voice. His body felt frozen. He was laying on something cold and he had a blasting headache. He didn't know how he'd ended up on the ground. He blinked rapidly to regain his vision, making out the blurry shape of a hunched figure standing above him, outlined by a gray sky.

He darted upward and threw himself into the woman, causing her to gasp and stumble into the snow. He quickly got to his feet, automatically putting two hands on his wand-knives and scrambling away from the woman, almost tripping several times. He turned around in a daze and broke off into a run, not keen on being held prisoner by a stranger. The texture of the ground felt crunchy and hollow. His feet sank about five feet every time he took a step, and cold water seeped into his sneakers. He ran blindly into the woods, and he didn't stop running until he was sure the woman wasn't following him.

Gasping for air, Kiel sank against a nearby tree and made a feeble attempt at brushing the cold water off of his clothes, but it was no use. From his feet to the top of his head he was soaking wet. His hands shook tremendously, and the tips of his fingers appeared to be a little blue. He glanced around at his surroundings, observing the whiteness that blanketed the ground and trees. There was a stiff, cold breeze in the air, and there was a certain stillness here than there was anywhere else. There was something both strangely beautiful and suffocating about it, all at once. Kiel's teeth soon began to chatter, and he rubbed his arms, which only helped a little.

He wondered if the spell had actually worked. Had he made it to the nonfictional world? If he had, this definitely wasn't the right area. He remembered Bethany and Owen's town to be slightly chilly, for the most part. But it hadn't been cold enough to reach this temperature.

He let out a breath. He watched, transfixed, as a fog escaped his lips. The weather was so different than it was in Magisteria. He was quickly becoming very cold, and his entire body felt numb.

After a couple of minutes sitting there, Kiel shakily got to his feet, suppressing a shudder. A freezing wind tore through his body, ripping through his clothes and causing him to shiver harder. He hitched his bag higher over his shoulder and began slowly walking in a direction. As he walked, small white flecks began to drift from the cloudy sky; they peppered his hair, clothes, and eyelashes. He managed to avoid them at first, but once he realized they did nothing harmful he ignored them. The snowfall soon began to pick up, and the woods became difficult to see through. He held a frozen hand to shield his eyes from the white cloud that fell mercilessly down upon him. At one point, he tripped over an unseen fox hole. He shouted in surprise and fell to the ground, the thick blanket of snow breaking his fall. Both literally and figuratively, he froze. He heard laughing in the distance.

A moment later, the laughing stopped, and he heard footsteps. He scrambled to pick himself up, wiping the snow off of his face. He was _freezing_. He began running blindly, panting heavily. Small clouds of fog escaped from his mouth. His feet felt heavy and sore. He pushed past trees and moved branches out of the way as he ran, the snowfall still relentlessly raining down on him.

"Hey!" a muffled voice yelled. "Hey, hey!"

He continued to run, not even looking back. But the terrain was difficult to run in, especially with his sneakers. Each time he took a step his foot sank deep into the blanket of snow, and he had to yank it out with much effort.

"Hey!" the voice shouted again, closer this time. "Wait!"

He didn't know if it was the exhaustion or the cold or the fear in the person's voice, but he stopped in his tracks. He reluctantly turned around, only to see a family of five. The woman who'd been calling him was bundled in a thick coat and scarf, along with her husband and three small children who were dressed similarly. They were all panting, with red noses and flushed faces.

"We were calling you," the man said. "Didn't you hear us?"

Kiel only stared, trying to blink away the snowflakes that dotted his eyelashes.

"Are you okay?" the woman asked, stepping forward. "We were having a snowball fight in our backyard when we saw you running by yourself in the woods. You must be freezing! Are you lost?"

"N-No," Kiel croaked, his teeth chattering although he tried to hide it. He forced a grin. "Y-You d-don't need to w-worry. I'm nice and w-warm, actually."

"You look very cold. Would you like to come inside our house real quick? You can borrow some gloves and a coat."

He looked left, then right, then back at the family. They were looking at him expectedly, and they seemed harmless enough, so Kiel quickly nodded. He didn't even know if he was in Bethany and Owen's town, but he knew for sure that he didn't want to freeze. "T-Thank y-you."

They started walking back towards the families house, which was about half a mile out of the woods. When they made it to the backyard, the children broke out into a run towards the back door of the house, laughing breathlessly. Their parents trailed behind, casting glances at Kiel every now and then. He remained silent for once, and hugged himself closely in an attempt to keep warm. He was relieved when they entered the home and found it to be warm inside.

"Take off your shoes, Samantha!" the woman shouted, closing the door behind them. "You can't leave a trail of water everywhere for me to clean up!"

"Sorry, Mommy!" a high-pitched voice replied, and a giggling little girl ran back in the room to wipe her feet on a mat. The couple did the same and removed their shoes, placing them on a rack beside the door.

"I'll go get you some of George's things," the woman said, shrugging off her coat and walking out of the room. "He won't mind, as long as you return them."

"Thanks," Kiel said, wiping snowflakes off of his soaking wet clothes. "I appreciate it."

The man, who he assumed was George, shook his head. "Don't worry about returning it. I have plenty of coats. You can borrow one of my hats, too. Might be a little old-fashioned for your taste."

Kiel laughed breathlessly. "It doesn't matter. I don't know much about fashion in this world."

"What world?"

"Uh, I mean . . . in this weather."

"Winter . . ."

He forced a smile, feeling uncomfortable. "Right."

The woman rushed downstairs, arms laden with different articles of clothing. She handed Kiel a long gray, wool coat. He put it on and was immediately enveloped with warmth. "Wow! This is great for keeping myself warm. I never knew the real purpose of these things until now."

The couple exchanged a confused look, and he quickly realized his mistake. "Ah — I'm just cold. My brain isn't fully functioning right now! I have what they call a — you know — brain freeze."

"I can see that . . ." the man commented slowly. "Did you know running around in the snow isn't healthy for your body? You could get hyperthermia if you don't wear a coat. Or frostbite. Your hands and feet fall off first."

Kiel had no idea what hyperthermia or frostbite were, but he nodded, feeling a little sick at the man's words. "That's good to know."

"Here." The woman handed him a pair of black, stretchy gloves and a gray newsboy hat. "Sorry that the hat is old-fashioned. George had this old thing since he was little."

"Oh, that's alright," he replied, putting them on. While the hat fit perfectly, the gloves were a little big, but he wasn't complaining. He remembered Elijah's words of advice about packing other clothes and he scolded himself now for not listening. But at least he had been given some free clothes! Unless they were poisoned, but Kiel doubted a family like this could poison him.

"Do you need anything else? Maybe a sweater? You're wearing a very thin black shirt . . ."

"Jane, I think he's fine," the man said in an annoyed tone. "Do you want to give away all of our clothes?"

He shook his head, not wanting to stay any longer than he needed to. He moved to the door. "No. The coat is warm enough. Thank you for the clothes!"

"We're happy to help," the woman said kindly. "Stay warm!"

Kiel opened the door and walked outside, careful not to slip on any ice on his way down the steps. The snowfall had subsided for now, but the freezing temperature remained. Looking at his surroundings, he noticed that the house was facing a slightly curved road. There were a few more houses nearby, but they were all separated by trees. He started walking along the sidewalk. If this was the right place, he definitely didn't see anything familiar. A few cars drove past along the road, sending a breeze that whipped his hair around him. As he walked he studied the gray skies and the trees, which were strangely bare. He hadn't remembered the trees to be lacking any leaves when he was last in the nonfictional world. It was weird to see how much had changed here. This weather called "winter" definitely wasn't his ideal or like anything he was used to.

He had been walking for a long time before he finally came across another town, which had many more buildings, with freshly snow-covered roofs. Among the buildings he noticed a familiar library. That was when it dawned on him — it was where Owen's mother worked! Filled with relief and newfound excitement to see his friends again, he crossed the busy street and made his way over to the library. For a short while he stood in front of it, simply staring. Then he walked through the sliding doors.

The moment he walked in, he knew that he was in the right place. He was greeted with the quiet buzz of conversation from a couple of tables over. The library looked the same as ever, except it was slightly updated and looked like it'd been repainted, although the carpet was still orange. He glanced over at the window, and felt a small rush of disappointment that the Kiel Gnomenfoot poster was no longer there.

He began wandering down rows of books, noticing the familiar spots that he, Bethany, and Owen had hung out in. He couldn't believe that had been three entire years ago. The library felt much lonelier than it used to. He felt a pang of sadness to be reminded that everything had changed, and nothing would ever be the same as before.

After walking the entire length of the library, he decided that none of his friends were around. He had no idea what time it was, but he assumed they must be either at school or at their houses. He surveyed the room for Owen's mother, but she was nowhere to be found, either. Even her office, which she usually was in, was locked and dark inside.

"Huh," Kiel muttered, walking out of the building. "It must be the weekend."

Since Owen's house wasn't too far from the library, he walked. Not that he had a choice, but if there was a chance of his friend being there he didn't want to waste it. The walk was only around twenty minutes — maybe more — and by the time he arrived at Owen's house it had started snowing again. Shivering, Kiel brushed the snowflakes off his face and rapped his knuckles on the door.

He heard shuffling inside, and then the door swung open, revealing Owen's mother. She looked weary and sad, and her hair was unkempt.

"Hi," Kiel said, smiling. "I'm looking for Owen. Is he here or at school right now?"

Her puffy eyes widened. She held onto the doorframe with both hands. "What do you mean you're looking for Owen?"

He kept the smile plastered on his face. "I mean exactly what I said! I'm just wondering because I haven't seen him in a while, and we were going to catch up . . ." He trailed off, his smile fading once he realized how stricken the look on her face was.

"Ms. Conners? Is something wrong?"

"He's been missing for three years," Owen's mother said weakly. "I'm sure you would've heard by now."

"Three _years_?" he exclaimed, furrowing his brows. "But — but that's impossible! Where did he go?"

She sighed. "I don't know. I asked myself that question millions of times. I tried calling him, tracking him down . . . but nothing worked. There is no trace of him. I don't even know why he ran away . . ."

"I can't believe it." He felt incredibly shocked, to say the least. He had expected Owen to be here, but missing? How and why? Millions of questions ran through his mind, but there were no answers.

"I still don't," she said, shaking her head and wiping her eyes. "In fact, yesterday was the three year anniversary of him leaving. There wasn't even a note. I don't understand. He was only twelve . . . such a good, honest and hard-working boy, with an active imagination and a passion for reading. I don't think I'll ever begin to understand what made him run away."

She began to tear up, and Kiel felt guilty for having ever stopped by in the first place. He smiled reassuringly at her, although he felt just as distressed. What made Owen leave? The Owen he knew would never run away.

"I'm sorry for bothering you," he said quickly, and moved to walk away.

"Wait!"

He looked over his shoulder. She still had the same sad, desperate expression on her face. "You're . . . you're that boy Kiel, right?"

"Yes."

"You were a great friend to my son. You and Bethany. He didn't have any best friends before you two. It's unfortunate the three of you haven't hung out since."

He nodded numbly, kicking his foot into a pile of snow. "Yeah. I haven't seen them in a while."

They lapsed into silence. Owen's mother continued standing at the door, watching Kiel long enough to make him uncomfortable. He didn't want to meet her eyes again. He didn't want to see the lingering sadness behind them.

Then, he thought of something that he hadn't before. If he was going to convince Bethany to rejoin with her other half, there was a chance that she didn't remember him. And since she spent majority of her time at school, he needed to find an easy way to become a student. That was the only place he knew he'd find her, because there was always a chance that she no longer went to the library, and he couldn't just barge into her house. Last time, it had been easy getting enrolled in the school because he had used magic. But maybe this time, he could put some creativity into his disguise.

"Would I . . . would I be able to use your, um . . ." He tried to think of the word. "Comp . . . computer?"

She looked surprised, but she nodded. "Feel free."

"Thank you. I'll be quick." He walked into the house, and she led him over to where her computer was. Kiel had already used it a couple of times, but it felt like an invasion of privacy without Owen here. He logged into the computer and clicked onto the Internet. After searching for a few interesting disguises, his eyes drifted to a website that he'd never seen before.

"Your-tube . . ." he read slowly, clicking onto it. A video started to play, and displayed a twenty year-old man sitting in his bedroom.

"Hey guys!" he said in a cheery, deep voice. "So, today's video is on how I survived my trip to Germany, which is by faking an accent and pretending I live there." He let out a long, dramatic sigh. "I know, I know. You're saying: Jonathan, why would you ever do that? Well the thing is, I've always wanted to be accepted everywhere I go. Everyone loves people with an accent! And us Americans love it even more when we get a foreign exchange student. I wanted to blend in there. I did it through three simple steps. You must, uh, want to write these down . . ."

Kiel searched widely for a notepad and pencil, finally finding one just as the man began stating his three steps.

"One," he said. "Fake it until it sounds real. Watch all the videos on German accents that you can, until you sound German yourself. Two: always talk about how much you miss the food in Germany. Germans love their food, and they don't like American food very much. Three: Study German! You have to know how to speak the language. If you don't, people will see right through you." He shuddered. "It happened to me because I forgot my own third step."

After writing this down, he concluded that this definitely was the best idea he'd come across. He'd use some magic to convince to school he was an exchange student from Germany, and then the rest would be simple! And if he wanted to see more videos, he could easily use the computers at the library. Smiling in satisfaction, he closed the tabs on the screen and turned the computer off. He stood up from his chair and walked across the hallway to the door.

"Thank you for stopping by," Ms. Conners said, from where she'd been sitting on the couch.

"Of course," he said. "I'm sorry about Owen."

"It's alright. Talking about him makes up at least a little bit for his absence . . ." She looked forlorn again for a moment, but she forced a tight-lipped smile. "Be careful in that snow. The sidewalk can be slippery."

"I will!" He waited until she looked away to leave. He thought about walking to Bethany's house, but it was far, and he was very cold. He had to go somewhere as a last resort.

Once he had walked a couple of blocks past Owen's house, Kiel walked back into the woods that lined the neighborhood. He looked left, then right, then left again to make sure nobody was watching. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a teleportation button, which allowed him to go anywhere he willed it to. Readjusting his bag across his shoulder and chest, he pressed the button and we instantly teleported to his old house.

Surprisingly, it was quite bare, and there wasn't much else besides the necessary furniture. It was the same house that he had created with magic when he was living in the non-fictional world for a couple of months, and he was surprised it was still here. He had expected that someone else would've bought it by now, but everything about the house was the same, including the giant Kiel Gnomenfoot poster he had proudly displayed above his bed.

He took off his bag, coat, gloves, and hat, and set them on the couch. He also removed his sneakers, which were wet from all the running in the snow. Now that he wasn't being watched, he said a spell aloud. A second later he felt his entire body being filled with warmth, and the wetness seeped out of his hair and clothes.

"That's better," he said, taking a moment to feel proud of himself. Now that he was where he needed to be, he felt so much more hopeful than before. All he needed to do now was get some new clothes, get enrolled in the school, and find Bethany.

His stomach growled, and he searched through his bag for the food he had packed early in the morning. All of today's journey had made him almost forget about his own needs. He finally found the bag and was disappointed to see that it wasn't much, but it might last him through the day. He took out a loaf of bread and began taking bites of it. He had worked up an incredible appetite, so it wasn't surprising how fast he ate it. He threw a glance at the remaining food in the bag. There wasn't much left. Definitely not enough to last him through tomorrow.

The nonfictional world was different, because not everything was at Kiel's fingertips. Magic was more difficult and tiresome, and so was getting hands on the necessary items. He figured he could use magic to acquire money, but he didn't remember what it looked like. Was it a papery texture, or was it hard and rough? He remembered it being green, but not much else other than that. What he really needed was Owen, because he always explained everything there was that needed to be explained. Since that obviously wasn't an option, he'd have to go with plan B.

It was time to be a magic thief again.

* * *

On Monday morning, Bethany was getting ready for school. She absolutely dreaded Monday, more than any day of the week. It meant leaving the weekend behind and going back to school, which wasn't something she particularly liked. She didn't think anything except English class was very interesting, and even that class managed to be unlikeable because of her teacher's rude manner. She had accidentally fallen asleep in that class numerous times, so she had faced the wrath of her English teacher enough times to dislike him.

Yawning, she finished getting dressed for the day and went downstairs. As usual, her mom was gone for work. She always left early in the morning and came back late at night. It gave Bethany almost no time to see her mom except for weekends, but she didn't fully mind. She was used to it by now.

Checking the time every now and then, she scarfed down a bowl of cereal and put on her backpack. She headed out the door and speed-walked to the bus stop, making it just in time for the bus to arrive. The bus lurched to a stop, letting out a low screech. The loud conversations and shrieks of teenagers filled her ears as soon as she climbed on, and she bit back a groan. She shuffled down the small aisle and took an empty seat near the middle of the bus. Sometimes she biked to school, but that was only when it wasn't winter, or when she wasn't extremely tired. She placed her bag on the spot next to her and stared out the foggy window, eyes glazed as she listened to the loud conversations of students behind her. A short while later the bus rolled to a stop, and the driver announced their arrival. One by one, the high schoolers filtered out of the bus, and were greeted with the cold December air rushing to their faces.

Bethany walked among the crowd of tired but chattering students, who surprisingly had a lot to talk about although it was very early in the morning. Piles of snow had been cleanly swept onto the grass, which allowed slush to form, making a mushy substance at the bottom of the students' shoes. Like most winters here, it got pretty cold. She was at least glad that the inside of the school was warm.

A group of girls in front of her pushed upon the double doors and she flocked in behind them. As usual, it was already becoming crowded since classes would start in ten minutes. Bethany made her way over to her locker (which was a few hallways over), dialed the code into the lock. The locker clicked open, and she emptied some of her schoolbooks that she wouldn't need until after lunch.

"Bethany!" an elated voice said.

She shut her locker and turned, a smile forming on her face when she saw who it was. "Liz!"

"You'll never believe who texted me yesterday," Liz said, barely able to stop smiling. "And we had a full conversation!"

"Who?"

"Austin!"

Bethany looked around, as if the boy was right there. "Austin? Isn't he your crush?"

The shorter girl shrugged, raising her eyebrows up and down. "Maybe."

She was happy for her friend, although sometimes Liz tended to get a little too obsessed with boys. Bethany once joked that her entire love life would always be through Liz, because she had much more experience with romance.

At first, the two girls walked to their first class quietly, their minds drifting off into different things. Their first class of the day was English, which was their only class together.

"Wait," Bethany said, eyes widening as she remembered the events of Saturday. "Did you see the News?"

Her friend shook her head. "You know my family doesn't watch much TV. I'm the only one who watches it, but I never watch the News. I'd rather watch, like, romance dramas. Ugh, they're _so_ good! Oh my gosh. Last week I was watching this show called —"

"Liz!" Bethany interjected, snapping her finger. "Focus!"

"Sorry." She laughed. "What were you saying?"

"Me and my mom were watching the News on Saturday. And you know how Mrs. Ugliano wasn't at the book club meeting?"

Liz nodded.

"It was because this boy attacked her. She said this random boy appeared out of nowhere in her backyard — which I definitely think is impossible, by the way. And then she said that he fainted, and when she ran over to help him — he attacked her and ran away!"

Her friend gasped. "That's crazy."

"I know. I can't believe it either. The police are on this whole investigation to track him down. Mrs. Ugliano said he looked around our age."

"I hope he doesn't go to our school," Liz said timidly. "He sounds dangerous."

They entered the classroom and Bethany walked over to the back of the room, where her assigned seat was. Almost the entire class was already seated and chatting with their friends, and more kids rushed into the room to take their seats before the bell rang. The teacher, Mr. Tompkins, strode in just as the bell rang, closing the door behind him. She hoped he had forgotten the falling-asleep incident, but with her record she knew he probably hadn't.

"Alright!" Mr. Tompkins barked, straightening his small round glasses. "Everyone, take out your books. We'll be picking up where we left off, and then we'll be having a small quiz on the chapter at the end of class."

The students fell silent and there was some shuffling as they each took out _Frankenstein_ , setting it on their desks and opening to the correct page.

"This time, I'll make sure all of my students are present and awake," Mr. Tompkin's said, directing a look at Bethany and causing the class to laugh. She flushed, but managed to straighten up a little. Inwardly, she groaned. Why did he have to bring that up?

A knock sounded at the door, and the teacher opened it. "Hello? Ah, Principal Dunlap. Perfect timing. We were just about to read _Frankenstein_."

The men shook hands, and the principal came striding in, followed by a boy. "Good morning. This is his first class of the day, so I wanted to make sure he made it here safely without getting lost."

Mr. Tompkins nodded, and Principal Dunlap walked back out of the classroom, wishing them a good day. Everyone's eyes were now on the boy, who looked to be the same age as Bethany. He wore a long, gray wool coat over a black sweater, black pants, and an old-fashioned gray newsboy cap on his head. He was tall, with a pale complexion and short black hair, which was slightly wavy. He was also noticeably good-looking, but she'd never say that aloud. His eyes scanned the room, as if looking for someone, and then they landed on her. His expression changed into something like recognition. She quickly looked away, but his eyes remained trained on her.

The teacher cleared his throat. "So, I hear you're an exchange student. Where are you from?"

Before the boy could speak, everyone turned to each other and began whispering excitedly. Bethany sneaked a glance at Liz, who sat in the middle row across the room. She was staring at the boy with dazed eyes, a hopeful smile on her face. Bethany chucked to herself. The boy hadn't even been here for ten seconds and her boy-crazy friend was already crushing on him.

Mr. Tompkins sighed and motioned for everyone to quiet down. "Let him speak." And then, he added bitterly, "Give him the respect you don't give me."

"I'm from Germany," the boy said, and sure enough he had a thick accent. He looked like he was concentrating on each word as he spoke.

"Wow!" the teacher exclaimed. "Our first German exchange student! You know, we've gotten some exchange students from China and Japan, but never from here. Well, good to know! What's your name?"

The boy tensed for a second, but then looked back at Bethany and relaxed. "Kiel. Kiel Bauer."

"Wow, did you know you have the first name of a popular book character? The _Kiel Gnomenfoot_ books."

He smirked. "The book series was created after me."

This caused the students to laugh, mostly the girls. Except for Bethany, who thought he was kind of arrogant.

"All right, all right," Mr. Tompkins said, motioning with his hands for the class to quiet down. "Kiel, go sit next to Lucas. He's the one with the blonde hair and white shirt."

Kiel's eyes followed to where Lucas was, but he didn't move. "There's another open seat in the back of the room. Could I sit over there?"

Her heart skipped a beat. He was looking at her again. Why did he keep doing that?

"Sure. I don't see why not. I just thought that maybe you'd like to sit in the middle of the room. To get acclimated with some other students."

Kiel shrugged and walked down the aisle of desks, everyone's eyes following him. He sat down at the desk to the left of Bethany, putting his bag on the floor. He removed his coat but his hat remained on his head, assumedly meaning that he'd forgotten it was there. He took out a copy of _Frankenstein_ and placed it on his desk. She hadn't even realized she had been staring at him until he caught her eye and smiled, as if she were an old friend.

"Beth," he breathed, as Mr. Tompkins turned back to his desk. She thought that she might've misheard him, so she stared down at her book, and pretended to be very interested in reading it.

"Hey," he said. "Bethany?"

She looked up. Kiel was staring at her expectantly, leaning slightly forward over his desk. His eyes were filled with a hopeful, almost pleading look.

"What?" she asked. "Wait, how do you know my name already?"

"Bethany," he repeated. "I — I just got here. I'm here to fix everything. You do remember me, right? I hope you do."

"What are you talking about?" she whispered, furrowing her brows. "I just met you right now."

He sat back in his chair, his face falling. Disappointment was etched all over his face. He glanced back at her. "Sorry. There was this girl back in Germany. You look a lot like her."

Bethany nodded, turning back to her book. There was something strangely familiar about him, but she didn't know what. The rest of the class went by incredibly slowly, and by the time the bell rang everyone jumped out of the seats, and instantly Bethany was almost knocked over by a crowd that surrounded Kiel's desk.

"What's your favorite thing about America?"

"Do you know a lot of English?"

"Can you say something in German?"

"Is the weather cold at home?"

"Are you having jet-lag?"

Kiel looked happy to answer everyone's questions, but slowly grew annoyed at the relentless group. He stood up from his chair, sliding his bag across his shoulder and edging out of the crowd. "I need to go to class. Nice meeting you all!"

He nearly ran out of the classroom, quickly catching up with Bethany, who had begun walking to her next class.

"Hey, Bethany." His eyes kept darting from the crowd of students to her. She pretended not to notice.

"And he's back," Bethany muttered under her breath, a surge of annoyance running through her.

"What is your next class?"

She didn't look at him. "Chemistry."

"Chemistry." He nodded, smiling. "Chemistry is . . . very . . . scientific. I prefer a subject that's easier to understand. I never liked science. I only use it if I absolutely need to —"

"I have to go," Bethany said quickly, then speed-walked in the opposite direction. She felt a twinge of guilt but didn't look back. He probably was paid to try becoming her friend. She was a loner and all she did was read and study. She wasn't popular, nor was she the most gorgeous girl in school. Why would Kiel have any interest in talking to her? Also, he seemed arrogant. She didn't care to talk to him.

She sat down in Chemistry class, milling over his words. _There was this girl back in Germany. You look a lot like her._ She wondered if the reminder had been her red hair, which didn't fully make sense. Although she had never been to Germany, she assumed there weren't many redheaded girls there.

"Did you hear about that new German boy?" Ruby asked. She was one of the most popular girls in school, so Bethany wasn't surprised that she already knew about Kiel.

"Oh. My. God," another girl gushed. "Isn't he cute?"

"He is!" Ruby giggled. "I haven't even seen him but I already know he is. Everyone's been talking about him since first period."

"I call dibs on him first," a different girl said.

Bethany couldn't help but roll her eyes, tuning herself out of the conversation. Every time a cute boy came to their school, the most popular girls immediately called "dibs" on them and eventually started dating them. She wished everything were simpler like the way they were back in middle school. Then, she could stop worrying about the pressure of romance. She wasn't really the romantic type. She knew that she was nothing like these girls, because if (or when) she ever found love, she wanted something more meaningful than a relationship with someone just because they were "cute." As nonexistent as her love life was, she knew that love just wasn't that. It was supposed to be special, wasn't it?

"Quiet down!" her Chemistry teacher said, clapping her hands. "Everyone, get out your pencils. I'll be handing out packets."

The girls threw annoyed looks at the teacher but quieted down anyway, walking over to their assigned seats. Mrs. Stacy walked around the room, handed out a thick packet to each student.

"You have the rest of class to work on these packets. If you don't have them done, you can finish them tonight. They'll be due tomorrow. No exceptions." Mrs. Stacy flounced back to her desk, taking out a pair of reading glasses and a textbook. She glanced up at the class with an annoyed look. "Begin!"

Bethany frowned down at her's, and wondered how long this would take. She turned to the first page and began to write, filling out the information on the packet. She had never been good at chemistry, or science in general. English had always been her forte, no matter what book they were reading. She always scored an A in that class, because her connection to books was so strong.

Briefly, she found herself wondering how Kiel Bauer, the new German exchange student, was holding up with his work. After all, wasn't English his second language? She dismissed the thought. She probably would never talk to him after today, anyway.

* * *

Kiel had never been so disappointed. Not when the Magister had turned evil, not when he and Charm stopped going on quests, and not even when he lost his magic. The fact that Bethany had looked at him as if he were a complete stranger was more hurtful than those things. When he saw her, his heart almost stopped, and he had felt immense relief at her presence. This not only confirmed that her nonfictional self was alive and well, but it meant that Kiel's hopes had come true. Once they made eye contact, he had expected her to smile, or at least recognize him. But she didn't. She was looking at him the same way a stranger would. He had high hopes that she would remember him, but he guessed he should've assumed she wouldn't. This was her nonfictional half. Why would she remember anything about the fictional world?

"H-Hi. You're from Germany, right?" a girl's voice said, breaking him out of his thoughts. He turned to see a short girl with wavy blonde hair and many freckles on her face. _She's pretty_ , he thought, then instantly felt a little guilty for thinking that, although he wasn't sure why.

Kiel cleared his throat and smiled. "Yes. I'm—"

"I was just in your English class."

". . . Oh! I'm Kiel. What's your name?"

The girl was staring at him intently. "I'm Elizabeth. But everyone calls me Liz."

He nodded and looked away, back down the hallway where Bethany had bolted. He didn't understand why she ran off like that. It was like she was purposely trying to get away from him. He felt a little hurt by it, but didn't let it get to him. As long as he befriended her, everything would work out. The first time they had become friends had been a little tricky, since Bethany tended to be very skeptical about things, but she had warmed up to him quickly.

"So . . . what class do you have next?" Liz asked. "I have History with Mrs. Popplewell. She can be kind of boring, because she gives us so many lectures. You probably have her, too."

Kiel lifted his hand-written schedule to his face, rereading the contents. "Next I have . . . History."

Liz smiled. "Oh! You'll love that class."

He raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said History was horrible."

"Less horrible, now," she said. He noticed that her face was several shades redder than it was ten seconds ago.

On instinct, he winked. For some reason, a group of girls walking to the left of them were staring, almost murderously, at Liz. He had no idea why. Maybe it was because he was pretending to be German?

She giggled, apparently not noticing the girls. "Come on. Mrs. Popplewell doesn't like her students to be late."

Kiel nodded and walked with her to the classroom. The walk was a few minutes but it was only a little awkward, because Liz kept asking him questions about Germany. Luckily, he was prepared. He spent all day yesterday at the library, watching videos about German accents, reading facts about the country, and learning phrases. Since the accent was the most important part, he practiced tirelessly until he was confident he got it right. And judging by the convincing looks on his classmates faces', he knew it sounded accurate.

He only wished that Bethany was the one walking with him instead. He felt lost here. Like he didn't quite fit in. But having her with him gave him a feeling of security, which he hadn't realized was there until he saw her that morning at the beginning of English class.

The moment he walked inside history class, he was greeted with a different kind of room, which had a large map on the wall and one long table instead of individual desks. Mrs. Popplewell, the history teacher, stood from her chair and smiled at Kiel. "It appears we have a new student!"

Inwardly, Kiel winced. Eight more hours of this?

* * *

When the bell rang and all students of ages fourteen through eighteen burst out of the classrooms, Kiel's first thought was: _school is over already?_ He hadn't remembered school being this short. His hopeful thought quickly vanished as he realized none of the students were headed to the entrance of the school. They were going to the cafeteria instead.

"I wonder how different the food in Germany is compared to here," said a chubby, brown-haired boy named Charlie, who was in his math class. The two had sat next to each other and had quickly become friends . . . as far as friends could go while pretending to be someone you're not.

"It's very different," Kiel said, recalling his written necessary steps. "So far I've only had some American food, but it isn't good."

"The food here is great," Charlie stated as if it were obvious.

"The cafeteria food isn't," a black-haired, olive-skinned girl said to the left of him.

"I'm trying to encourage my new German friend, Diana." Charlie sighed, then looked pointedly at Kiel. "Even the cafeteria food is great."

"He only says that because he'll eat anything," Diana said dryly. "Ugh. Boys are such pigs."

Kiel smiled. "I'll eat anything, too." His statement was true enough, because he hadn't eaten a thing since last night. After eating only a loaf of broad on Saturday, he had managed to find a pizza restaurant the next day that was in walkable distance, and had even managed to steal two whole pizzas. He used an invisibility spell so that there would be no conflict with the police. He hadn't wanted to steal, but he didn't have money, so he knew it was necessary. The restaurant owners hadn't caught him, either, because he was an expert thief from his early days.

They entered the cafeteria, and the roaring of conversation filled his ears. Kids were sitting at long, white benches. A line of students were formed, which led to a buffet. Kiel began scanning the room for a certain redheaded girl, but Charlie's voice broke his concentration.

"Hey, Kiel! The line is over there. Aren't you hungry?" He was rudely waving a large hand in front of Kiel's face. Kiel stepped back to avoid getting accidentally slapped.

He nodded and looked back at Charlie. "Yeah. I'm just looking for somewhere to sit."

"Don't worry. You can sit with me and my friends."

"But —" Kiel started to say, but Charlie grabbed his arm and led him to the line of students, as if he couldn't walk there himself.

"Actually, I want to sit with this girl from my English class," he said. "I met her this morning. She's nice."

"Who?" Charlie asked, turning to face him. "Is she pretty?"

Kiel envisioned Bethany's wide, bright eyes, her confident grin that appeared when she was having fun, and her vibrant red hair. He unconsciously smiled. "Yeah, I'd say she is."

"What's her name?"

"Bethany."

"Huh," Charlie said, scratching his head. "I don't know any Bethany's. It makes sense, though. This school is big." The line moved a few feet, and they took a few steps before coming to a stop again. "These lines always take forever. No wonder I'm always hungry."

Diana joined them in line, looking bored. "The lunch better be good. If it's not, then all I'm drinking is coffee."

Kiel gave her a confused look. There were so many things he didn't understand in this world that it was almost embarrassing. "What's coffee?"

They both stared at him as if he was crazy. "What do you mean 'what's coffee'?" Charlie asked. "Germany can't be that different than America. Coffee is everywhere."

"Yeah," Diana added in a disgusted tone. "Why wouldn't you know what coffee is? It's my necessary drink. I have to have it every day, or else I can't function."

Kiel flushed. "My family doesn't . . . drink it. I've never heard of it. Is it good?"

"Is it _good_?" Diana repeated, raising her eyebrows. "Of course it is. If you're tired, it gives you an energy boost. There are so many different flavors. It's addicting."

"I heard that coffee causes brain cancer," Charlie said, receiving a hard glare from the girl.

"Don't ever listen to Charlie," she said, her eyes narrowed.

"Got it," Kiel said with a light-hearted laugh. Diana reminded him of Charm, which made him feel more at home. His statement seemed to ease the tension, and the three started talking about other things.

Kiel was the first to reach the buffet table. He grabbed a tray and observed the various types of food. Out of the selection there were burgers, chicken, vegetables, fruit, rice, chicken pot pie, and macaroni. He hesitated before dishing a burger onto his plate. He'd eaten one before when he was twelve, so he was glad to know he wouldn't need to suffer from any more harassment.

He glanced at his classmates, who were busy grabbing food. He took the opportunity to lose them in the crowd and walked around the sea of tables. There were so many kids everywhere that he was afraid he'd never find her. But then, he spotted her red hair gleaming under the bright lights. She was sitting at a table with a few other girls and boys, with many empty seats. It appeared that she was sitting alone and had no one to talk to, which gave him the perfect opportunity to swoop in and talk to her. As he hurried across the cafeteria, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. It was unnerving, but Kiel forced a confident smile on his face as he strode over to her table.

"Is anyone sitting here?" he asked loudly. Bethany looked up from her meal, and her eyes widened. She looked slightly nervous for a moment before shaking her head. Unlike most of the students, she had a bagged lunch with her. He slid into the seat across from her. As he did, everyone from the table looked up.

"Why do you want to sit here?" Bethany asked, pursing her lips.

"Is this reserved for someone?" Kiel asked with a grin. "You _could_ try kicking me out. That would be very rude, though, since I'm an exchange student and all."

"I'm just . . . surprised you even want to sit here," she said. "There are many better places to sit. But I guess I can't stop you, can I?"

"You definitely can't, because I have something called a free will," he said, placing his tray in front of him. "And I chose to sit here instead of those other places. Looks very inviting."

"Are you Kiel?" a boy asked. "I heard you were from Germany. Hey — your name is like that character Kiel Gnomenfoot's!"

"It is! Isn't that ironic?" he said. "I _am_ from Germany. The food is better there, I have to say."

"You haven't even eaten your burger yet," the boy pointed out.

"No, but I've had other food here besides a burger," Kiel shot back.

"You might surprise yourself. That burger might taste good," the boy replied. Kiel was tempted to cast a spell on him, just for fun, but he restrained himself because he didn't want to blow his cover.

He returned his attention to Bethany, who had a sandwich wrapped in tin foil, although she didn't seem to be eating it. Gone was her Twilight Girl outfit, which consisted of a long purple cape, long purple gloves, and a red and purple body suit with a Twilight star at the center of her chest. Here in the non-fictional world, she wore a patterned gray sweater and jeans, and she had a cream-colored backpack. She met his stare for a brief moment before looking away. He tried to think of something to say, but for once no words came out. Instead, he busied himself by taking a bite of his burger, which surprisingly didn't taste horrible. He didn't know why Germans apparently hated the food here.

"Not hungry?" he managed to ask, noticing that her sandwich wasn't being consumed.

"Not very much," Bethany said, taking a piece of crust off her bread and chewing on it. "I had cereal this morning. That's probably why I'm not hungry."

Kiel nodded. "I've never had cereal."

She looked genuinely surprised. "You haven't? How come?"

He quickly tried thinking of a believable excuse. "Where I live, we don't have the traditional breakfast food that you do. I usually eat fruit." The lie was practically not a lie at all, because Magisteria really didn't have the same food as the nonfictional world. He hadn't eaten cereal before either, so the fib rolled easily off his tongue.

"That makes sense," Bethany said. She twisted a strand of her hair with her fingers and glanced at the kids around them. "I'm . . . sorry if I was rude earlier. After English class, I mean."

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. You weren't rude."

"No, I probably was. It was only because you're kind of —"

"Awesome?" Kiel cut her off before she could finish her sentence. She deadpanned. "Either way, you weren't rude," he continued. Actually, she was, but he didn't hold it against her. "You had to get to Chemistry class. That's obviously more important than talking to a wonderful person like me."

Just as she was about to respond, a blonde girl slammed her tray on the seat next to Bethany and sat down in a heap. Kiel's hands automatically went to his wand knives, which he'd forgotten were back at the house.

"What's wrong?" Bethany asked.

Kiel recognized her as Liz, the girl from his history class. All friendliness was gone as she only focused on Bethany. Although she talked quietly, he could hear every word she was saying. Something about a boy named Austin ignoring her.

"I'm done talking to him!" Liz continued, making wide gestures with her hands. " _So_ done. He can't just text me one day and ignore me the next! Who does that?"

Bethany was nodding repeatedly. "I'm sorry. He seemed a bit reserved, so I think this is a good thing!"

"A good thing?" her friend shrieked. "How on earth is this a _good_ _thing_?!"

The conversation went on for several minutes before a sniffling Liz turned away and began eating her apple. The surrounding kids at their table had lost interest in the conversation and were back to eating their food. It was only then that Liz looked up and met his eyes, and her face turned red.

"Kiel!" she gasped. "Were you sitting here this whole time?"

He winked. "As much as any of us were."

This only caused her to blush harder. Ah, she must be a fan. That could be the only explanation, except he was partly confused how she saw through his disguise. At least she wasn't calling him "Kiel Gnomenfoot" and asking for his autograph.

"You guys have met?" Bethany asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I walked him to History class," Liz said, still looking flustered. "I was helping him out. He seemed lost."

"It's his first day here. You think he wouldn't be lost? Our school is big."

Kiel lifted his burger and took another bite of it, feeling a strange wash of relief. Hopefully soon, they'd become friends and Kiel could convince her to reunite with her fictional self. He assumed that doing so would retrieve her missing memories. It was weird to interact with Bethany as if nothing had happened between them. As if they weren't best friends. As if Kiel hadn't spent the last three years trying to find a way back to her from the fictional world. He had to pretend she was a stranger, which served to be very difficult. So far, he was treading lightly, because although he knew Bethany well, he knew it would take some time before she accepted him as a friend. Or maybe not. Her fictional and nonfictional selves seemed to have dramatically different personalities.

All of the sudden, someone slid into the seat next to him. It was a girl, who had the same strange, admiring look as Liz. "Hi Kell! Want to come sit with me and my friends? We want to hear about your life in Germany!"

Kiel exchanged a look with Bethany, who looked offended and slightly disgusted. He glanced at the girl's table, which consisted of a large group of giggling girls. "No thanks," he said quickly. "I'm trying to make some friends. Also, my name is Kiel."

"Oops . . . well, that's _such_ a shame." The girl pouted. "Are you sure? There's loads of friends to make at my table. Better friends than here." She looking around the table in disgust before looking back at Kiel. "And you have a very nice accent."

He didn't know how to respond to that, so he just winked. When she didn't move, he sighed and pulled out a ripped sheet of paper and a pencil from his bag. "I always have time for my fans. Do you want my autograph? Here." In one swift move, he signed his fake name on the paper and handed it to the girl. Everyone around them giggled. She stared, her mouth opening and closing, then stood up and crumbled the paper in her hand, stuffing it in her pocket as she flounced away. This caused everyone to laugh harder, and a boy sitting a few seats away from Kiel leaned over to slap him on the back.

"That was the best thing I've ever seen!" a girl guffawed. He noticed that everyone at the table was laughing, including Bethany, which made him grin. It'd been so long since he had the chance to enjoy himself around other kids.

"I can't believe you gave her your autograph," a boy said with a laugh. "I bet her friends will get it framed. She's the most popular girl in our school — and she's not used to being denied."

"Normally, I wouldn't deny anyone the chance to sit with me! But she doesn't seem very smart," Kiel observed.

"She isn't!" Liz piped up.

The bell rang, and the students all rose from their chairs and deposited their food into trash cans. Kiel was disappointed that lunch had flown by so fast, because he didn't know how much longer he'd get to eat free food. And he hadn't eaten anything today besides this burger. He wondered how much longer he'd need to keep up this facade. At least a few weeks, he hoped. He wished Owen or Elijah, or even Charm was with him. Things would be easier if they were.

"I can't believe you did that," Bethany said, appearing at his side. "Seriously, I feel like I've met you before."

"Maybe you have," Kiel said with a wink. "You never know."

In front of them, a boy nudged open the door, and Kiel caught it with his hand before it could close, holding it open for Bethany. She muttered a "thank you" and followed him out of the cafeteria.

"I have this friend named Owen Conners," Kiel began slowly, glancing at her to see if she recognized the name. Clearly, she did. "He came to my town when he was twelve and we became good friends. I heard he lives around here. Do you know him?"

Bethany tilted her head as they walked. "I think he was my classmate in sixth grade, but I don't remember him too well. We were in the same math class. I didn't talk to him much."

His heart sank. He had expected her to remember Owen, and maybe have an idea about where he'd gone, but it seemed like she lost all her memories that involved her former half-fictional life. Owen was a huge part of that, so Kiel guessed that it made sense she forgot about him, too. He felt an unexpected pang of sadness for her. She had lost and forgotten all of her true friends.

"I know his mom," Bethany was saying when he tuned back into the conversation. "She works as a librarian at this library a few blocks from the school. You can go talk to her. Owen ran away a few years ago. I guess you didn't hear."

Kiel swallowed hard. "No, I didn't." He took a deep breath, then started to say something, but she cut him off.

"I'm going to get to class."

Without saying a goodbye, Bethany rushed across the hallway and turned the corner. He tried to hide the growing uneasiness and longing and fear that resided in his stomach as he went to his next class. He didn't like these feelings one bit. They represented the opposite of confidence, which he realized was the feeling he needed most right now. Normally, he was never lacking in self-confidence. This whole day's events had been a mishmash of good and bad, and he wasn't sure if Bethany liked him yet. He'd try again tomorrow, of course. He had come here to save her, and he planned to do nothing less than that.

* * *

Back in the fictional world, things were going according to plan. Everything was progressing perfectly, except for one tiny problem called Kiel Gnomenfoot, who had grown far too clever for Nobody's liking. The boy had a plan up his sleeve, but Nobody wasn't worried. Even if he did successfully reunite the girl's two halves, they'd play right into his hands and he could easily get rid of them. What he needed was a backup plan to make sure none of this ever happened. The boy magician may have made it to the nonfictional world, but Nobody had a brilliant idea that would get rid of this Kiel Gnomenfoot problem once and for all. Since he didn't have a way of getting to the nonfictional world himself, he would need to hire someone else to do his dirty work. All it took was a little planning ahead.

With the wave of his hand, he pulled fictional reality apart, then stepped into a story. The alleyway was dark except for the light that shone from the moon. Nobody silently walked out of the alleyway and recreated his appearance, giving himself a full head of hair, facial features, and clothes. He was in a crime-ridden city with the most intelligent and malevolent individuals. He put his hands in his pockets as he calmly walked past a stabbing that was taking place in another alleyway. He made it to a tall hotel building with only one light on; it was the home of the individual who would play a key role in his plan to get rid of Kiel Gnomenfoot and put a stop to his antics.

He unlocked the door and pushed it open. The lobby of the apartment building was dimly-lit, with many expensive-looking couches and bookcases. A man who was working at the desk had fallen asleep, unknowingly allowing Nobody to sneak past. He pressed a button on the elevator and the compartment shot upward until it reached the very top floor. Checking his watch, Nobody slowly walked out into the hallway and stopped in front of a room. He heard classical music playing from inside. He outstretched a long hand and patiently knocked on the door. A moment later, the music disappeared, and the door opened, revealing a teenage boy.

"What is this?" the boy asked with an amused look, straightening his round thin-framed glasses. "Did my dad send someone to try murdering me again?"

"Quite the opposite," Nobody said pleasantly, interlocking his hands behind his back. "I've heard of you, and I'm interested in hiring you to do some important work for me, Oliver Bines. I have a pesky problem that I need getting rid of."

Oliver smiled. "You've come to the right person, then. What can I do for you, Mr . . . ?"

"Call me Nobody."

"Nobody." The boy nodded, then gestured for him to come inside.

"I suggest you sit down," Nobody told him, looking around the room. It was incredibly fancy. He knew that Oliver Bines would not want money. He was a highly intelligent, world class tracker and murderer. He was perfect for the job, because he never got caught, he was a skilled actor, and he had enough money to hide behind. "There is much to discuss. What I'm about to tell you may be surprising, but you must not let it get to your head. The most important part of this involves a boy named Kiel Gnomenfoot, and a girl named Bethany Sanderson. I need you to get rid of the boy for me — do it with threats, an accidental injury — I really don't care how you do it. As long as you separate the two as much as you can. Kiel cannot go through with his plan. You must keep him away from the girl at all costs. Even getting rid of him completely will do the job."

Oliver took a seat, leaning back against a large chair. "Your story sounds intriguing. I have all night to listen. It won't be anything different from what I've heard before."

The faceless man smiled without emotion. "Good to hear. And once we're done discussing, I'll need you to steal a magic spell for me. It was created by Kiel Gnomenfoot, and it remains hidden in his study. If you recite it, it will take you to where you must go."

"I'm listening," Oliver responded, training his eyes on Nobody as he began reciting the story, and his very important plan. As they talked, Nobody couldn't help but feel optimistic. He already had Oliver hooked. This was going much better than he had hoped, and soon his plan would be in action. He had already cast Owen aside into that Pick The Plot book, so the only problem left was Kiel. And once Kiel was disposed of, there would be no one left to reunite Bethany's fictional and nonfictional halves, since she had lost all memories of her half-fictional life. The fictional world would soon be taken over by the pure possibility, and the entire world would be at his control to recreate. Perfect.

* * *

 _"It's only been a moment, only been a lifetime. But tonight your a stranger, some silhouette . . ."_

 **A/N - I actually think the song "Silhouette" by Aquilo is so perfect for this chapter, especially related to Bethany not remembering Kiel. It's also a perfect ship song! Everyone should go listen to it. It really gets you in a mood.**

 **Why do you think Bethany is acting this way towards Kiel? And what is Nobody planning? Please feel free to comment your thoughts/ideas/feedback on this chapter. And also, thank you to everyone who is liking the story and leaving nice reviews! I'm glad people are liking it! :)**


	8. Building Trust

**_Chocolate (by The 1975)_**

 _"No we're never gonna' quit it, no we're never gonna' quit it no. Yeah we're dressed in black from head to toe, we've got guns hidden under our petticoats . . ."_

* * *

Assisted by two guards, Owen was involuntarily led to his doom. He had struggled against the guards but their grips were like iron, which gave him no choice but to walk with them. Once he was finished with his simulation test, he was hardly given a chance to relax before two guards escorted him to his job. He really deserved a break. After everything he'd gone through, between having his heart removed in the seventh _Kiel Gnomenfoot_ book, his evil fictional self trying to drown his best friend and steal his identity, getting separated from his friends who were in a comic book, and now being trapped in a _Pick The Plot_ book — he deserved at least a couple of days to sit around and do nothing. It was only fair.

The only good part about all of this was: they were going outside! An escape route seemed more plausible that way. The bad part? _Dinosaurs_. Owen didn't know what he'd signed up for until he caught a glimpse of one in the window, and while part of him wanted to jump for joy, the other part wanted to crawl into a hole. If asked several months ago how he would feel if he saw a real life dinosaur, he probably would've cried of happiness. Almost being eaten by one had definitely changed his perspective. The guards silently led him down several hallways for a while until they came to their destination: the dinosaur hunting squad.

A small group of prisoners were standing in front of an airlock, all holding weapons and talking. When he was finally released by the guards and was shoved forward, he tripped and fell to the floor, shouting loudly. The group roared with laughter as Owen lay there, questioning his very existence. _At least this isn't the real world,_ Owen thought. _If I did this at school, I'd be much more embarrassed._

"Ow," Owen grumbled. A hand extended outward towards him, and he took it, allowing the person to pull him up. Once he got to his feet, he realized it was a certain pink-haired girl. A smile immediately broke out onto his face, despite his embarrassment. "You're in dinosaur hunting, too?"

Kara nodded, releasing his hand. "This is my first day, actually. I used to just be in charge of cleaning the dinosaur cages when they were empty, but since I never got to see a dinosaur, I insisted I become a dinosaur hunter. That's where more of the action takes place, anyway. There are tons of different groups besides this one that are positioned all over the Time Security Agency. I'm surprised we're in the same one! Makes things less boring with you here."

He blushed but quickly dismissed the feeling. "Less boring is _one_ word for it. I'll be happy as long as I don't get eaten," Owen said with a shudder, remembering his near-death experience with the T-Rex. It was the most terrifying thing he'd ever been through.

"But hey," he added. "At least you could _watch_ me get eaten, and then you'd rescue me and we'd laugh about it later."

Kara laughed and shook her head. "Don't worry," she said in a reassuring tone. "The group is big enough that you don't need to get near the dinosaurs if you don't want to. You just need to hunt them, at least from a distance. That's what I've been told. Plus, I'm excited to see a dinosaur up close!"

That made Owen feel a little better, but he still had anxious thoughts about this whole thing. His first two days here hasn't exactly been welcoming. The very first thing that happened within ten seconds of him getting thrown into the book was a gigantic T-Rex chasing him down. If that wasn't enough, just this morning he had unwillingly engaged in a fist fight. He still had painful bruises on his face and body to prove it. Stupid Nobody. When he got out of this book, he was going to _seriously_ push that guy off a cliff. Even if it didn't kill him, it would still be satisfying after all the stress Nobody put him through.

A buff man with large, bulging muscles entered the room, carrying some kind of long vibrating stick and a large machine gun. A taser, along with a rope was hooked to his belt. At his entrance, the group stopped talking and straightened up in an authoritative manner. It took Owen a moment to recognize him as Tobias, the instructor who had rudely awoken him with a bucket of water yesterday. Kara had warned Owen about him, and he could tell why. The instructors here obviously weren't to be messed with.

"Into a line!" Tobias barked, and the group quickly scrambled into a line, all of them looking equally nervous. He paced back and forth in front of the group, arms swinging back and forth his back as he effortlessly managed not to loose his grip on the stick or the machine gun. "You know the drill. Each of us has a weapon. These weapons are for the purpose of capturing the dinos, not for any other reasons. We ain't tryin' to kill them dinos, but we'll do what we must if the situation calls for it. If I see you attemptin' to fight each other, I'll personally taser you myself. That clear?"

"Yes, sir!" the group chorused automatically.

"We go to the westward side of the jungle and only the westward side. Got it? The other groups can handle the other sides. Let's head out!" Tobias turned the door of the air lock and pulled it open, a loud suction-like noise occurring as he did so. The instructor led the group inside, but quickly had to stop everyone.

"One by one!" Tobias said, shoving back two men who tried exiting at the same time. "The airlock ain't big enough for the two of you. Stay in a line formation until you're outside."

The prisoners obeyed and each filed out individually, all conversing quietly with each other. Once they were inside the hallway, Tobias pressed a red button, and the air lock was sealed shut again. As soon as the door closed behind them, red lights began flashing and a loud siren rang out in short bursts. Owen winced and covered his ears, as well as many of the other prisoners. The lights and alarm soon turned off, however, and the large double doors on the opposite side of the hallway swung open, sending a wave of humid air crashing over the group. Without saying a word, Tobias motioned for the prisoners to follow him and led the group outside.

Then, Owen remembered how he'd missed breakfast, and his stomach growled. He wished that the fight had never happened, because now he had to pay for it. He still didn't understand why his body seemed like it was out of his control. He had felt like a puppet, because even though he screamed at his body to turn around, he couldn't control it until the fight was over.

"See, I told you to eat," Kara said, bumping him with her shoulder. "Look at you, your stomach is practically yelling. Never miss breakfast, Owen. Most important meal of the day, I hear." He only smiled in response, following her through the door.

Once he stepped outside, Owen was greeted with an odd assortment of odors, the most prominent one being the smell of rotten meat. He gulped. He suddenly became very glad he had missed breakfast. The smell of rotten meat was enough to make him loose his appetite.

"This smells terrible," he whispered to Kara, who nodded in agreement and crinkled her nose.

"Get your guns ready," Tobias said in a low voice, flexing his joints. "If we're lucky, none of you will screw up and get eaten. _Again_."

"But me and Kara don't have any guns," Owen spoke up.

"Neither of you are to be trusted with a gun. Not at your age," the instructor said. "Especially Kara Dox."

He glanced at Kara. "What are we going to defend ourselves with, then? What about a taser? Or that stick you're holding?"

Tobias shrugged and spit at the ground, motioning for the group to start walking towards the jungle. Owen bit his lip to keep from complaining. He didn't want to get on the instructor's bad side, but he didn't want to get eaten either.

"I hope he gets eaten," Kara whispered. At his shocked look, she added, "Okay, not really. Well, maybe a little. But it would be ironic, because he didn't even give us a weapon to defend ourselves with! I don't know why he thinks two twelve year-olds are more untrustworthy than the adults."

"Tell me about it," Owen said. "For all I know, this gives us an even higher chance of being eaten. Did I tell you that my friend Kiel has been eaten forty-three times?"

"Forty- _three_?" Kara asked, her eyebrows raised. "By what?"

"Dragons."

"Huh. That's gotta be a nightmare to forget. Good thing we have your time powers to help us out, then." It took him a moment to realize what she was talking about. How did she know about his powers? Had he shown her that in the past, too?

Bright sunlight shone through the cracks in the leaves, blinding Owen and causing him to shield his eyes with his hand. A hot breeze blew across Owen's forehead, ruffling through his waves of light brown hair. Crickets and other various jungle insects chirped loudly, drowning out any other dinosaur noises for now. Since they were walking to the westward side of the jungle, all they needed to do was get past the tall electric fence that surrounded the Time Security Agency. Owen had never seen it before, but then again he hadn't been outside in two days; he had crossed a ravine then, but he assumed that was on the other side of the agency, since the place proved to be massive.

As they neared the electric fence, Owen could hear the faint buzzing that signified the fence was turned on. Tobias retrieved a key from his pocket and unlocked the chain that held the door in place. The fence swung open, and everyone slowly crossed to the other side. A couple roars were heard in the distance, causing everyone's heads to turn at the noise. The only one who wasn't effected was Tobias, who remained silent and unemotional as ever. He shut the gate behind them, and Owen felt a shiver of fear go through his body.

The group started walking into the jungle. Owen made an attempt to back away, but was quickly pushed into the dense bushes by another prisoner. He rubbed his arm and gave the woman who pushed him a sour look. He pushed an oversized leaf out of his face and nervously looked around, hoping he wouldn't have to encounter any dinosaurs for the second time.

"How long will we be out here?" a man asked.

"Until lunch," Tobias said. "We take a break, then we go back out until dinner. If you're too scared, you can climb back over the electric fence. There's nothing like a nice electric shock to wake you up."

No one made a move to turn back.

Owen glanced at Kara, who appeared unafraid and a little excited as her eyes wandered around the jungle. Despite the situation, he smiled. She probably hadn't been outside in a long time. They continued trudging through the jungle, pushing tall bushes and leaves out of the way. There wasn't a path; there was only the dirt and the dense shrubbery that rose from the ground.

Suddenly, a man who was a few feet ahead of the group screamed. The rest of the prisoners scrambled over, but all stopped dead in their tracks once they realized what the man was looking at.

Tobias scoffed, putting his gun back at his side. "That's a Styracosaurus. Harmless enough; it's only a herbivore. Nothing to scream about," he said, calmly observing the large beast. It was much bigger than Owen, and was eating some plants. It lazily looked up at them before losing interest and turning back to it's meal.

"Are we going to capture it?" a woman asked.

"We only capture the meat-eaters," the instructor said, turning back to the prisoners. Owen let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. They started walking again, looking around more warily for any predators that could be lurking nearby.

A low, deep roar echoed across the jungle, sounding not too far away. The ground began to shake all around them. Everyone held their breath and tried not to loose their balance, looking around fearfully.

"Weapons out!" Tobias shouted, attaching his gun to a holster on his belt and raising his stick. The prisoners all readied their own weapons, clearly used to this. Owen backed into the middle of the group, searching for a good hiding place since he really didn't feel like being eaten today.

The ground shook again, and Owen heard loud, heavy breathing. The prisoners all raised their weapons, looking around widely.

"No movement," Tobias whispered, just as a T-Rex poked it's head out of the leafy trees, huge drops of saliva dripping from it's mouth. It slowly inhaled, then turned and fixed it's beady eyes on the group. It took a step closer and roared, opening it's mouth and unexpectedly diving for the group.

The prisoners screamed. Some fired their guns immediately while others scrambled away. A few bullets hit the dinosaurs scaly body, but it only seemed to make it angrier. It roared again and opened it's jaws, leaning forward to catch the remaining prisoners who fired bullets at it. A scream build itself in Owen's throat, but he had no time to react. Kara yanked him down and they hit the dirt hard, narrowly missing becoming the dinosaur's next meal.

"Regroup!" someone shouted, and Owen grabbed Kara's hand, pulling her underneath the T-Rex and into the trees. Some people were hiding in the bushes, and others were still firing at the beast. It snarled and grabbed the closest person, swallowing them with one bite. The prisoners backed away.

"Hold the beast steady!" Tobias's voice rang out, sounding far away. Owen squinted his eyes against the sun and looked up. Somehow with all the chaos going on, the instructor had climbed a tree and was inching closer to the T-Rex until he was nearly over it's head.

Some of the prisoners emerged from their hiding places and fired guns at the dinosaur from behind. It roared and whipped around, it's tail bashing into a man's body and causing him to fly into a nearby tree. The prisoners scattered around the beast, trying their best to dodge it's attack's.

"That's it! Bring it a little closer!" Tobias shouted. The group kept attacking it from all sides, but the bullets continued to deflect off of it's scaly skin. Owen could only stare in horror as the T-Rex reached out and grabbed ahold of another unfortunate person, who screamed continuously while still in it's jaws.

"This one's a tough bugger," Tobias grunted while everyone else screamed. The instructor stood from his perch on the tree and leaped onto the dinosaur's back, causing it to roar and drop the prisoner. The prisoner screamed again and pushed herself off the ground, limping over to safety. Tobias dug his feet into the sides of the T-Rex and plunged his vibrating stick into it's neck. The dinosaur let out a low growl and thrashed around, slamming headfirst into a tree. Someone took out a rope and quickly tied it around the dinosaur's mouth while it was distracted. Tobias slid off it's back and took out his taser, hitting it against the T-Rex. The T-Rex roared and twitched, trying to break it's mouth free of the rope. Tobias tasered it again, and it thrashed around, trying to move. It's energy soon gave out and it closed it's mouth, keeping it's body still.

Everyone grouped together, all staring at the T-Rex. "That was crazy! I can't believe that just happened," Kara said, all her excitement from earlier gone as she stared with wide eyes.

"Me neither," Owen whispered, swallowing hard. He was still shaking.

"Get used to it," a man said. "This is the first day in a long time that we've successfully caught a T-Rex."

"What are we gonna do with it now?" a woman asked, cautiously stepping forward.

"Finish tying it up with that rope," Tobias ordered, pointing to the extra ropes on the ground. A prisoner grabbed the rope and began loosening it from it's knot. When he was done, the other prisoners each grabbed hold of it and began expertly stringing it around the unresponsive dinosaur. The prisoners then began pulling the T-Rex across the ground, back in the direction of the Time Security Agency. Owen was standing behind Kara, a chunk of the rope in his hand as he pulled with all his might. He figured that he didn't contribute much to the task; he was naturally weak and had never been a very good participant in gym class.

Just then, Owen noticed that the insects, which had been noisily buzzing, had fallen completely silent. He heard a chirping noise, and he froze, banging straight into the prisoner behind him.

"Hey!" the man yelled. "Keep walking!"

"Stop!" Kara shouted, dropping her rope. She pointed into the trees. "Look."

Owen turned to find six pairs of lizard-like eyes staring at them from between the leaves. He heard another chirp, then saw three more dinosaurs to his left. _Velociraptors_. They were surrounded.

"This is the worst!" one of the prisoners shouted. "What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? Are we gonna die? What are we gonn—"

Someone punched him, and the prisoner collapsed to the ground, unconscious. The group went silent.

"That's better," Tobias said. "They shouldn't come any closer with this beast we're lugging along. Keep walking. And someone will need to carry that guy. I can't be held accountable for another accidental death."

A man groaned, then leaned down to pick up the unconscious man on the ground. He staggered a little from the weight, but proved to have little difficulty holding him. The rest of the group grabbed ahold of the rope again, slowly tugging the T-Rex along. Sure enough, the velociraptors backed away at the sight of the beast, disappearing into the trees.

Owen could breathe again, and he contributed to pulling the heavy T-Rex until they finally made it to the Time Security Agency, which seemed like hours later. Upon their arrival, two men driving in a truck pulled up and connected a rope to the dinosaur. They pulled it away, around the side of the building where Owen assumed all of the other captured dinosaurs were.

" _Really_?" Owen said with a frown. "They couldn't have driven into the jungle and saved us a lot of time and energy?"

Kara sighed tiredly, visibly sweating. "That would've been nice."

"Alright, prisoners," Tobias shouted, clapping his hands. "You get an hour and a half lunch break. Meet back at the westward airlock on schedule, or else I'm tasering you all and dragging you here."

"That's comforting of him to say," Owen whispered to Kara, who laughed and walked with him into the airlock.

* * *

The faded noise of students whispering to each other was what a half-asleep Bethany heard that morning. At first, she figured it must just be a dream, and she moved to sink deeper into her bed. After all, she had plenty of dreams about school. But why did her bed feel so . . . hard? Then a boy's voice spoke her name, and she stirred.

"Bethany," the voice said again. Then louder, "Bethany!"

Her eyes slowly opened, and Bethany was once again in the same situation she'd been in last week. Mr. Tompkins was staring at her, with a whiteboard marker in his hand and not a trace of amusement on his face. He was standing next to the whiteboard, and a bunch of notes were written on it. Her classmates were all staring at her and whispering to each other, most of them barely able to conceal their laughter. Her face burned. She glanced to the left, and she realized Kiel had been calling her name; he looked worried.

After staying up until three, Bethany concluded that this was the worst decision she had ever made. She had spent the night diving into her book, and now was paying the price for it. This was a serious case, since she was running on only four hours of sleep today. She had even fallen asleep on the bus, and had almost missed school until someone tapped her awake.

"This is the fifth time you've fallen asleep in my class, Bethany," Mr. Tompkins said distastefully. "I'm sorry, but I'll need to set up a meeting with your mother today."

Bethany didn't say anything. She couldn't. She was so embarrassed and furious at herself that she could hardly speak.

"Hey, Bethany, maybe you should start sleeping in a bed instead of a desk!" Ross Clarke, a popular boy said, laughing with his friends. "Maybe consider doing that. I'd rather not watch you drool on your desk for the fifth time!"

Bethany opened her mouth to yell at him, but the only thing that came out was: "I . . ."

"Maybe you should drop dead," Kiel suggested, winking at the boy.

" _Excuse_ me?"

"Mr. Bauer!" the English teacher cried. "We don't tolerable bullying at our school."

"I see," Kiel said, waving his hand around at the class. "You _obviously_ don't tolerate bullying. You know what you guys need to be taught at school? It's called respect. That's the only important thing you need to learn here."

"Can I marry you?" a girl asked, and some of the girls laughed while everyone else looked shocked. Mr. Tompkins looked furious, but he sat down at his desk. "Everyone, read chapters ten to thirteen for the rest of class."

Bethany's face was still hot. She had to stop falling asleep somehow. But when else was she going to read Pick The Plot? The rest of the class passed by quickly, and as soon as the bell rang, she scooped up her backpack and pulled the straps over her shoulders. She started to walk over to Liz, but a guilty feeling stopped her, and she hung back to wait for Kiel. He was adjusting the strap of a brown shoulder bag over his chest. He started walking in her direction, and she fell into pace beside him. "You didn't need to say that."

He looked up, seeming a little surprised. "What I said to the class after that boy was being mean to you? Of course I did!" He sounded defensive, almost angry. "I can't let anyone talk to you like that. That was rude."

How was she supposed to tell Kiel that he had made everything worse? Now, people were going to think he liked her or something. That would be even more humiliating, because all the girls in her class would probably want to murder her. This was what she got for studying hard and keeping school as her main priority.

Bethany nodded. "Yeah . . . it was. But seriously, you didn't need to call out Ross like that. He's one of the most popular boys in our school, and I bet you guys would easily be friends."

"Friends with him?" Kiel scoffed. "I'm good. I'd rather be friends with people who are awesome." He smiled at her, and she felt heat rising to her cheeks for an entirely different reason. Then he added, "You know, like I am." and her irritation for him was back.

"Bethany!" Bethany looked down the hallway to see Liz walking over to them. Liz glanced at Kiel, and her expression changed to one of a lost puppy. It was obvious that her crush on him wasn't fading anytime soon. "Oh, h-hello Kiel. How are you?"

"I'm great!"

Bethany gritted her teeth. "Okay, I'm going to Chemistry class. See you at lunch, Liz."

"You'll see me at lunch, too," Kiel said, sending her a wink. She resisted the urge to strangle him. Why did he have to wink so much? It was getting on her nerves.

"Yeah, maybe," she responded, and started to walk away. Liz's eyes widened, as if she had just remembered something, and she grabbed Bethany's arm, pulling her a few feet away.

"What?" Bethany asked.

"First of all: reading late at night? Again? Though I have to say, seeing you fall asleep in class just gets funnier every time."

She smiled guiltily. "I can't help it. It's a really addicting book."

Liz sighed. "I love books too, but I always read on the weekends or in the afternoon. Second of all, you can't listen to stupid Ross Clarke. He isn't attractive, and he isn't even worth listening to."

Bethany nodded. "I already know not to listen to him. And also, you're way too obsessed with boys for your own good."

"Only the good-looking ones," Liz responded with a smile. "And third of all, didn't Kiel get like, ten times more attractive when he stood up for you?" Liz sighed dreamily. "Like that girl from our class said, I seriously would like to marry him."

Bethany rolled her eyes. "I agree that it was nice of him to say that, but he's standing right here. Couldn't you wait to tell me that until lunch or at the book club meeting?"

"I can never wait to talk to you about the important stuff!" Liz said. "This is important, and you're my best friend! And now that Austin is completely out of the picture because he was being incredibly rude to me yesterday, I can say whatever I want about Kiel."

Bethany snorted, then started to walk in the opposite direction. "I have to go to Chemistry class. See you."

"Bye! Try not to fall asleep again."

"I won't!" she replied, then made her way to her next class. She glanced over her shoulder and was surprised to see Kiel watching her. She tried shaking off the weirdness of it all. It was strange enough that Kiel, a boy she had just met yesterday, had stood up for her in front of the entire class. On top of that, he seemed to act like they were good friends even though they weren't. But even if he was annoying, he still seemed like a good person and maybe even a good friend for the future.

Right before third period, Bethany's mother left her a voicemail on her phone. Her mother had said that she received a call from Mr. Tompkins to come down to the school, so she would be having a talk with him about Bethany's misbehavior. Her mother had sounded angry on the phone, so Bethany couldn't imagine how angry she'd be once she got here. She felt incredibly nervous at the thought of her mother and English teacher having this meeting. She never got in trouble, and she never broke any rules. This was the first time she'd ever done anything remotely bad at school, and she hated the feeling of shame that came with it.

The moment she exited History class, which was right before lunch, her phone buzzed in her pocket. There was a text from her mother, which said, "I'm here. I'll be outside Mr. Tompkins classroom to talk with him. Afterwards, I'll need to have a long talk with you, Bethany. I'm very disappointed."

Looking down at the phone in her palm, Bethany read the text with a feeling of dread. She felt even worse about this, somehow. She knew that she needed to go spy on their conversation, just to hear everything they were saying. She was certain that her English teacher disliked her, and she wanted to confirm her suspicions.

Checking to make sure the rest of the school was heading to the cafeteria, Bethany slipped out of the crowd of students and walked back to Mr. Tompkins' classroom, which was a few hallways down. When she finally made it, she was relieved to see that no one else was around to catch her. She was about to turn the corner into the next hallway, but stopped as she heard two voices deep in conversation. She peeked over the side of the wall and sure enough, her mom and English teacher were talking. They were standing in front of the English classroom, and her mother was holding a purse in her hands.

"I just don't understand what could cause Bethany to be so sleep deprived," her mother was saying, shaking her head. "I mean, I'm not around most of the time, and I work late hours, but she always seems to be asleep when I get home."

"You see, 'seems to be' is just the problem," Mr. Tompkins said. "She's sleeping in my class instead of at her home! She isn't focusing at all when I'm talking. She's fallen asleep five times in my class, and it'll be more times if she doesn't learn."

"I understand. I'm sorry about her behavior. She cares a lot about school. She really does. I didn't even know she was staying up so late. It appalls me!"

"It appalls me, too. I really—" Bethany didn't hear the rest of their conversation after that, because someone tapped her on the shoulder. She abruptly screamed, then clamped a hand over her mouth, quickly ducking behind the safety of the hallway before whirling around.

"Whoa. Why are you screaming, Beth? I should call you the easily-scared girl," Kiel told her, winking. She rolled her eyes when she saw who it was.

"It doesn't matter," Bethany said, failing to notice he had strangely called her by her nickname. She crossed her arms. "What are you doing?"

"Spying on you, obviously. I think the real question is what are _you_ doing?"

"Does it matter?" she asked. "It isn't like I'm doing anything bad. I would never do anything to break the rules."

"Hmm," Kiel said, sounding amused. He peered over the side of the wall, but she quickly pulled him back. "Don't."

"What?" He laughed at her serious expression. "Why?"

"It's my mom. She's having a meeting with my English teacher in the hallway." Bethany hadn't wanted to tell him this. After all, he was an arrogant exchange student who she wasn't even friends with.

"Oh." Kiel gave her a smile. "Don't stress about that. There are more important things than the opinions of your mom and your teachers. School isn't worth worrying over anyway."

"School isn't worth worrying over?" Bethany was shocked, to say the least. Hadn't he come all the way from Germany to get an education? Education was the most important thing to her! There were rules enforced at school, and she felt safe when she was given boundaries to stick by.

He shrugged. "Not really. I think school would be much more exciting if we could, you know, do dangerous stuff for fun. Or if there was a fight club." His face lit up as he said that. "But memorizing and studying? That's boring. Unless there's actually an important reason to do it. Recently, I was studying a spe—" His eyes widened as if he'd almost said something he should've have, but he quickly regained himself. "I mean, uh, I was studying this project for a long time and it was the hardest thing I've tried learning. I finished it, though. Obviously." He grinned.

"You are a weird boy, Kiel Bauer," Bethany said finally, after a silently staring at him for a few seconds. She turned away and pressed her body against the side of the wall, listening for the conversation between her mother and Mr. Tompkins. When she didn't hear anything, she gritted her teeth in frustration and peeked her head around the wall, only to see her mother and English teacher staring at her. She'd been caught.

She slowly walked out of her hiding spot, followed by Kiel. Her mother looked angry. "Bethany! This is a private meeting about your performance in class. I thought you'd be more mature than to try spying on our conversation. I would've told you the details later, anyway."

"Yes, this was the immaturity I was talking about," Mr. Tompkins said disdainfully. "I'm not going to give you any form of punishment, but if I see you falling asleep again in my class then I will have to ask you to drop your advanced English reading class."

Bethany's mouth dropped open. "What? But I've never done anything but get A's and B's on your quizzes and tests. And my advanced English reading teacher is Ms. Jones."

"You're right, but to get the best grades for your report card you must have the best performance. This means in class you can't be falling asleep. If focusing is this big of an issue, Bethany, I'm afraid the right decision is to pull you from your advanced English reading class. If you improve your performance, however, I'll reconsider."

Feeling frustrated, she held her tongue to keep herself from yelling at him for acting unfair. But she knew he wasn't. This was strike three. There was no way she could be pulled from her advanced English reading class. It was much better than regular English, which was the class with Mr. Tompkins. In her advanced class, they had interesting discussions, and the teacher was much nicer. They got to read more advanced books of their choosing and write long essays about them.

"That's very reasonable," her mother was saying, nodding her head. "I'll get her focused, Mr. Tompkins. No need to worry about dropping her advanced English reading class."

"I'd hope not," Mr. Tompkins said stiffly, then gave them a forced smile. He glanced at Kiel, who had been silent throughout the whole conversation. "Mr. Bauer? What are you doing here? This conversation isn't one you're apart of."

"Oh, I'm aware," Kiel said, giving him a wink that seemed to make the English teacher furious. Without another word, Mr. Tompkins strode to his classroom, muttering to himself. Bethany almost laughed but quickly regained her serious attitude, since her mother was standing right there.

"I hope you'll be completely focused from now on, Bethany. I'm not just hearing about this from your English teacher. Your Chemistry and Math teachers have also reached out to me about this focusing issue. I took off work for two hours just to talk to your teacher. You need to start going to bed at a reasonable time and stop reading so late."

"I know," Bethany said. "I'll try to stop falling asleep."

"Good," her mother said, then went even further lengths to embarrass her and pulled her into a hug.

"Mom," Bethany growled, her face heating up. She squeezed her for a few more seconds, then pulled out of her grasp.

"Well how else are you going to say goodbye to me?"

She sighed. "Can you not hug me at school? At least not in the middle of a hallway with another student standing right there."

"What do you mean? We're the only ones here."

Bethany turned to where Kiel had been standing, and was surprised to see he had left. Huh. She looked back at her mother. "Uh, never mind. I'll see you later. Have a nice day at work!"

"You too, Beth," her mother said, reaching out and squeezing her hand. She adjusted her purse over her arm. "Are you and that boy friends?"

"What, Kiel?" she asked, then she laughed. "No. He's weird. And he's from Germany."

"Germany? Wow, that's a great country. I've been meaning to take you out of the U.S sometime. Maybe we'll go there."

"That would be cool," Bethany agreed. "But is it safe?"

Her mother laughed. "Safe? Of course. Much safer than some other places." She started walking back to the entrance of the school. "Honey, have a great day. Call me if you want anything from the grocery store. I'm gonna pick up some stuff after work. Love you!"

". . . Love you too."

Bethany turned around and walked back to the cafeteria, pushing open the double doors and making her way over to her seat. Just like yesterday, Kiel was sitting at her table, and was talking with Liz. Seriously? Why couldn't he sit somewhere else?

Bethany sat down and opened her bagged lunch, taking out a grilled cheese sandwich. The conversation between the two stopped as soon as she sat down, and she felt two pairs of eyes on her.

"What did your mom say?" Kiel asked.

She looked up at him, and a burst of anger suddenly seized her. "Why would I tell _you_ that? I just met you yesterday."

He knitted his eyebrows in confusion. " _What_?"

"He was just asking a question!" Liz said. "Why are you so angry all of the sudden? Are you okay?"

Bethany glared at the table. "I'm fine. Just splendid."

"If you were fine, you wouldn't be yelling at everyone right now."

She sighed. "If I don't stop falling asleep in class, I'm going to get kicked out of my advanced English reading course."

"Advanced? That's impressive," Kiel commented.

Bethany gave him a look but didn't say anything. Where had all of that anger come from? She assumed it was pent-up from this morning. She felt bad about unleashing it onto Kiel, especially considering he had defended her this morning. But when she was worried or scared, anything irritating was enough to set her emotions off.

Liz patted her on the shoulder. "All you need to do is go to bed at a reasonable time. And stop reading so late. It'll work out."

"You like reading?" Kiel asked, an excited glint suddenly appearing in his eyes. "I didn't know that."

Bethany nodded, feeling some of her anger dissipating. "I love it. It's my favorite thing to do, actually. I love going into different worlds and seeing new places and meeting new people—while still in the safety of my house, of course."

He smiled. "That's ironic."

"What? Why?"

He blinked. "Uh, never mind. I mean, I like reading books too."

"You do?" Bethany asked, her irritation for him completely dwindling. "I've always wished I could go into a fictional world. You know, to see the characters and the amazing worlds. I've had countless dreams about it, but it's sad to know that I will never be able to travel into a book."

"Wouldn't that be amazing?" Liz said, clasping her hands together. "I'd go into my favorite romance novel, and —" She looked at Kiel, and stopped talking, her face turning red. "Never mind. I'd go into any book. Preferably Harry Potter. Not a romance one!"

Bethany laughed.

"You shouldn't give up on your dreams," Kiel told Bethany, seemingly oblivious to Liz's comment. "If you want to go into a book, you should! It isn't impossible. Actually —"

Then the bell rang, and it drowned out whatever Kiel was about to say.

"Do you think the book club will be going on today?" Bethany asked, standing up and throwing her remaining food into the trash can.

Liz shrugged. "It depends if Mrs. Ugliano still wants to work. She might be having a panic attack still from Saturday. You know how old people get."

"What happened on Saturday?" Kiel asked, walking beside Bethany. He had been talking with some other kids from their table when he was throwing out his own food, but immediately drew his attention back to Bethany when she spoke.

"It was all over the News," Bethany said. "Me and Liz go to this book club at school, and it was supposed to be held here on Saturday, like it always is. But the lady who hosts our meetings wasn't there. It turned out that a boy had appeared out of nowhere on her front lawn, and he fainted. When she ran over to help him, he suddenly stood up and knocked her over. He had weapons, too. And she's an old woman, so she was freaking out. She called the police and they set up an investigation to find the boy."

Kiel turned pale. "Did they find him yet?"

"I don't know. I hope they did, since that was three days ago."

"Me too," Liz said. "Whoever that was must be crazy."

"Yeah," Kiel said, looking nervous. He scanned the room, as if looking for someone. "Do you know if they stopped doing the investigation?"

Bethany shrugged. "I guess we'll find out." She peered closer at him, and realized he had the same expression that had been on her face all day. He looked worried. "What's wrong, Kiel?"

"Oh, it's nothing." He smiled, but she couldn't tell if it was forced or not. She didn't want to push it, especially if it was his own personal problem, so she didn't mention the topic after that.

"So, what book would you like to go into? If you could go into one, of course." Kiel placed his bag over his shoulder, apparently changing the subject. "A _Kiel Gnomenfoot_ book, perhaps?"

"I'd jump into my favorite book: _The Little Prince_ ," Bethany said, then added: "And you're only saying that because your first name is Kiel."

"That's not true," Kiel said. "I happen to love the _Kiel Gnomenfoot_ books. They're great."

"I've never read them." She shrugged. "But I know they made them into a movie."

"A movie — wait. You've never read them? Still?"

"Nope. And what do you mean 'still'?"

For some reason Kiel looked a little hurt. "But why haven't you?"

"The main character seems kind of obnoxious, from what I've heard. I love adventure books. . . but I don't know. I never got into that series."

"Those _Kiel Gnomenfoot_ books?" Kiel said, pushing open the cafeteria door. "They're great. Amazing, in fact. And I think the main character is charming."

She rolled her eyes in response.

"It's true," he insisted. "They're great. Also, what was that about a movie?"

"Oh, well they made the first _Kiel Gnomenfoot_ book into a movie."

" _Kiel Gnomenfoot: Magic Thief_. That has a nice ring to it! Where can I watch it? I've never seen a movie. I don't actually know how they work."

Bethany turned to stare at him, stopping in her tracks. "Wait, what? You've never seen a movie? Are you kidding?"

Kiel smiled, a little sheepishly. "I haven't."

"Why not?"

"It doesn't matter. I just haven't watched a movie before. So, where can I watch it? I've been meaning to, since I love the —"

"The _Kiel Gnomenfoot_ books. Right," Bethany interrupted. "Do you have a TV?"

"A _what_?"

She gestured with her hands. "You know. A TV."

Kiel winked. "Right. _Now_ I know. Very helpful of you to explain."

"So you've never watched a movie . . . and you don't have a TV. That doesn't make any sense. Germany has the same technology as they do in the U.S, don't they?"

"Yes, but my family doesn't have. . . tech-no-gee. Whatever that is. Anyway. Where can I watch it?"

Bethany sighed. "They wouldn't have it in the theatres anymore. And. . ." No way. How could she consider this? Kiel was still kind of annoying. But wouldn't it be nice to make a new friend? Even if he was weird, maybe it would. She gave into her internal fight and smiled at Kiel. "I have a TV at my house. You can watch it there."

"Really?" Kiel grinned.

"Sure. Um, I should give you my phone number. And my address." She dug inside her pocket for her phone, but he held a hand up.

"Don't worry about it. Just tell me your address. I'll remember."

Bethany looked at him doubtfully, but recited her address anyway. Kiel gave her a smile. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to see this movie. I can't imagine whatever phony they cast as Kiel. I auditioned for the role but I didn't get the part, even though everyone says I look like him! I have his hair color, his charming facial features, and my favorite color is black."

Girls had crushes on _this_ idiot? She rolled her eyes again, just as the bell rang, and she realized they were the only ones in the hallway. She hadn't even noticed how long they'd been talking! For some reason, talking to him had been so easy. Not that Kiel wasn't annoying. He was very much, in fact.

"I gotta get to class," Bethany said quickly. "You can come over sometime this week. Though, not on a school night. Come over on Friday or Saturday night."

Kiel nodded. "Okay. See you later, Beth."

Bethany turned around and started walking to her next class of the day. By the time she had turned the corner, a strange thought occurred to her. It was one that didn't make sense.

Had he just. . . called her _Beth_?

* * *

That afternoon, Bethany departed from the school bus, her foot landing in a thick pile of snow. Shivering from the freezing temperature, she walked through her neighborhood, her hands buried in her pockets in an effort to keep them warm. After a long bus ride, she was ready to finally be home and relax. She wanted this day to be over; it had been pretty horrible. She got to her house and was relieved to see that her mom's car wasn't in the driveway. She didn't want to face any more confrontation today.

Bethany removed her hands from her pockets and took out a house key, fitting it into the lock and turning it. The door clicked open, and she walked inside, wiping her snow-covered shoes on the mat outside before she entered the house. She removed her snow boots, gloves, and coat and put them in their rightful places before wandering back into the kitchen for something to eat.

Her mother was never home early because she worked late into the night, so it wasn't a surprise to find the fridge filled with takeout food and leftovers. Usually, those were the only things she ate. They hardly had meals together, except for on the weekends and holidays.

Yawning, Bethany started warming up some food in the microwave. Seconds later, the microwave beeped, and she took out the contents. She sat down at the table and began eating, her mind wandering aimlessly to other things. Just as she and Liz had suspected, Mrs. Ugliano didn't appear at the book club meeting. Bethany had no clue when she would return, but she hoped she would soon. Everything that happened this morning had gone downhill so fast, and at least going to the book club would've risen her spirits. But when she and Kiel has that conversation—it was comforting to talk to someone new and refreshing. She realized that he wasn't as annoying as she thought, and she was starting to enjoy his company.

Once Bethany was finished eating, she discarded her leftovers into the trash and went upstairs. She lingered in a hallway for a few seconds, her head turning to her mother's room. Building up her courage, walked into the room and flicked on the light. As long as she could remember, the room had always looked like this. Everything untouched. The same pictures hung on the walls, and her mother refused to sleep on her father's side of the bed.

Bethany didn't know why her mother did it. She had to face the truth that her father was dead, and he always would be. She didn't think it was very sensible to wallow in the sadness of it all. There was nothing she could do. Her mother seemed to act quite differently. Although they never talked about Bethany's father, Bethany knew when her mother was thinking about him. Bethany didn't know if it was the color of her hair, which was the same bronze color as her father, but something always set her off into a mood. Her mother would come home early from work, sit in front of a fire, and take out an old hand mirror which was a gift from Bethany's father. She would stare sadly at it for a while before putting out the fire and hiding the hand mirror away, never to be seen again until the next time she thought of Christian Sanderson.

Now, Bethany was the one thinking of her father, and she felt sadder than she wanted to admit. He had died when she was very young — maybe five years old — and she didn't remember much of their time together. She missed him, and sometimes she wondered what life would've been like if he was here. There would always be a _what if?_ , but the "what if's" would never become true. Even still, it didn't hurt to dream about it. Her life would be a lot fuller if he were here.

Bethany walked over to her mother's vanity and opened one of the drawers. She dug through it for a minute before finally reaching a photo album. Wiping the dust off of it, she took it out. She slowly opened it, and suddenly she couldn't breathe, because here was _her father_. He was smiling at the camera, holding a two-year old Bethany in his arms. His hair was as red as her's, and his eyes were green. She stared at his face for a while, tracing the outline with her finger. When she looked at him, her heart felt like it was going to _burst_ because he wasn't here and he never would be.

She turned to the next page, and was surprised to see a wedding picture of her mother and father. She had never seen it before. Her parents looked so joyful, and they were both laughing and hugging each other. Her mother was dressed in a beautiful white dress with puffed sleeves, and her dad was in a black tuxedo. After looking at it for a long time, she turned the page. There was a five year old Bethany surrounded by a group of kids, standing underneath a sign that read "Happy 5th Birthday, Bethany!"

Bethany turned to the next page. It was another photo from her birthday party, except this time it was a picture of her and her parents, who sat on either side of her as she blew out the candles of a cake. She swallowed hard, feeling a painful lump in her throat. This was the night. The night that her father had a heart attack. The night that she stayed behind at the party while her mother drove her father to the hospital, and when her mother came back . . . her father wasn't with her.

Bethany shut the book and put it back into the drawer, shutting it closed. She couldn't keep looking at these pictures. She couldn't keep dwelling on the "what if's" every time she thought of her father. It only brought her pain.

* * *

On Friday night, Kiel stepped onto Bethany's porch, breathing in the cold air. Adjusting his hat, he knocked on the door. About a minute later, Bethany opened it, looking surprised. Her hair was in a ponytail, and she was fully dressed in pajamas, complete with fuzzy blue socks. "Kiel? I didn't think you were coming."

He scrunched his brows. "What do you mean? You said to come on either Friday or Saturday, so here I am!"

Bethany shrugged, then stepped back and waved Kiel through. He was glad and confident that they were becoming friends so quickly. At this rate he'd tell her the truth in a few days and she'd rejoin with her fictional self! He walked into the house, taking off his snow-filled sneakers and placing them next to a pile of other shoes. He took off his coat and hat and put them on a bench as well. Kiel entered the living room, which was where Bethany was sitting. He took a moment to look around her house, just to see if anything had changed. Nothing had.

"Are we watching this movie now or do you want to look around my house some more?" Bethany asked impatiently.

He walked over and sat on the other side of the couch, sinking against a pillow. "Be patient. We're watching this."

She picked up a rectangular black box and pressed a button. Immediately, the box in front of that lit up, and people appeared on the screen. Kiel stared. He had never seen anything like this!

Bethany clicked another button and typed in _Kiel Gnomenfoot: Magic Thief_ onto the screen. A picture appeared, and she clicked a few more buttons until the movie started to play. At first, Kiel was horrified. What was this? It looked nothing like Magisteria or Quanterium! But the movie soon got better as he appeared, though it would've been much better if Kiel himself were playing the role.

"This doesn't seem very accurate," Kiel said, at one point when the Magister appeared on screen. "I mean, Magisteria and Quanterium don't look like that. Neither does the Magister. This version of the Magister is kind of . . . creepy. And I'm much better looking than that boy who plays Kiel."

Bethany shoved a bag of popcorn into his hands. "Shh. Just watch the movie."

"I am," he said, taking a handful of popcorn and stuffing it into his mouth. Not once did he tear his eyes away from the movie. He couldn't have done it even if he tried. This was his movie, and it was the first one he'd ever watched! He felt immense joy that his fans could not only read the books, but could also watch this movie in his honor. During the whole movie, he commented different things about it, but Bethany didn't seem to mind, which he was happy about. He had a lot to say about this movie, and there was no way he could keep this bottled up inside his head.

"How'd you like it?" Bethany asked once the credits were rolling. She had a second bag of popcorn in her hands, and she was popping pieces into her mouth.

"I loved it. Pretty sure it could've been better, though," Kiel said. "I was told this movie was supposed to be a tear-jerker. Apparently, Jonathan Porterhouse was crying the whole time he was signing the contracts."

Bethany laughed a little. "Yeah, it _was_ good. If I had read the books, I probably would've thought the same thing. A movie usually ruins the effect of the book. They change a lot of the plot."

"And they did," Kiel said, shaking his head. After all of this was over, he'd need to have a few select words with Jonathan Porterhouse.

Bethany stood up and stretched her legs, then grabbed the empty bag of popcorn from his hands and walked into the kitchen, throwing it into the trash. "This has been fun, but my mom will be home soon. So do you want to head home? Sorry, but I'd like to _not_ get in trouble. She doesn't . . . really know that you're here."

Kiel was about to protest, but then he remembered that Bethany wasn't the same half-fictional girl who remembered him as Kiel Gnomenfoot. He nodded and stood up, making his way over to the door and shrugging on his sneakers and coat.

"See you at school," he said, opening the door. He hadn't even closed it before Bethany pulled the door back open. "Wait! You forgot your hat."

"Oh," he said, then smiled and took the hat from her, their fingers brushing against each other. He felt his body heating up, despite the cold. His heart rate increased, but he ignored it and stepped back.

"Have a nice weekend," Bethany said with a smile. "I hope that _Kiel Gnomenfoot_ movie was life-altering for you. Or else I'll regret having invited you over."

Kiel laughed. "Yep. It has certainly changed my life. Both in good and bad ways. Mainly good." He played with the edges of his hat. "Um, thank you for inviting me. It was fun."

"Sure," she said, waving him off. "See you on Monday."

He smiled. "Yeah. Monday."

Kiel caught a glimpse of her smile one last time before she shut the door, leaving him outside. He shivered and walked down the steps, back in the direction of his house. He had walked here. He didn't want to use much magic because it drained him quickly in the nonfictional world. And also, he liked doing things without magic. He felt more rewarded when he accomplished something on his own without the use of magic.

Reciting a warmth spell, Kiel felt himself quickly warming up from his head to his toes. He ignored the tiredness that came with it and started walking back to his house, which proved to be a long walk, although it wasn't impossible. Kiel had been walking to school too, because he didn't know any safe places he could teleport to without being seen. Also, magic tired him out easily when in the nonfictional world, and he knew he could only use it for emergencies. And it wasn't like he had any form of transportation. Although it was cold to walk from place to place, he didn't mind. He liked the refreshing stillness of the cold air that rushed to his face and body, especially in the morning because it woke him up.

When he got home, he changed into a spare outfit and took out his spell book. He started to flip through the pages, then paused. Something was wrong. Frowning, he flipped through the entire book. He realized what was missing. His spell that he had created, which linked the fictional world to the nonfictional world . . . it was _gone_.

* * *

Kiel had searched thoroughly for his written spell, but he couldn't find it anywhere. He thought he had put it into his spell book, but maybe not. This didn't make any sense. After a while of looking for it, he concluded it was probably back in his tower and there was no point in worrying about it. It was most likely in his study, and since he had cast that spell on Nobody he wasn't very worried.

After the weekend had passed, Kiel confirmed that he didn't like school very much. There was so much work! He didn't even care about that, though, since he figured he wouldn't be staying here very long. After attempting to solve some math problems, Kiel gave up and used magic to get the job done. Although he felt more rewarded when he worked hard and accomplished something, he knew he would never accomplish this without magic. Especially Chemistry. That was his hardest class by far. He pretended to enjoy it as much as he could, but every time he went into that class he felt dirty. It only stirred up memories of Dr. Verity performing crazy experiments. Plus, he hated science. Charm was the only person he knew who liked it.

Luckily, he had to say that school was getting slightly easier. He became popular wherever he went without much effort. He appreciated it, but the only person he wanted to like him was Bethany. After all, he had come here to reunite her with her fictional self, and she was the only one he cared about.

Early on Monday morning, Kiel was sitting at his desk, writing notes while Mr. Tompkins did a lecture. Personally, he didn't like this class. A few days ago, everyone had laughed while Bethany was asleep, and the teacher didn't defend her! He had called her mom and scheduled a meeting with her instead. Kiel didn't understand how anyone could treat Bethany that way. She was his best friend, and she didn't deserve to be laughed at, so he did what was right and defended her. He didn't know why she seemed opposed to that afterward, but he didn't care. He would've done the same for any of his friends.

"Write this down, everyone," Mr. Tompkins said, messily writing some bullet-pointed notes on the whiteboard. "The first event that happened in this chapter is —"

Suddenly, the door opened and a dark-skinned man dressed in Magisterian clothes burst into the room, clutching his arm. "Sorry to interrupt." He quickly scanned the room of kids and spotted a very surprised Kiel. "Uh, Kiel?"

Kiel abruptly stood from his chair and rushed over to the man, putting an arm around him. " _Elijah_? What are you — _how_ did you —?"

"Who is this man?" Mr. Tompkins demanded. "Who are you and why are you here? You're disrupting our class."

"He's from my . . . my . . . foreign exchange family," Kiel said, barely able to think straight. "I need to talk to him. Can I . . . ?"

"Sure, but be quick. If this is an emergency, I suggest you go home, Kiel."

Kiel locked eyes with a confused Bethany before looking back at the teacher and nodding. "Okay."

Using both hands to support Elijah's weight, the two hobbled out into the hallway. Kiel shut the door behind them, then led Elijah over to a bench. His friend slowly sat down, grunting with pain. He looked like he'd been through a war. His clothes were ripped in some places, and his skin was cold to the touch. He looked exhausted and weary.

"What _happened_ to you?" Kiel asked, removing his hands from Elijah's side.

"He stole it, Kiel. I followed him here but he was too fast for me. He beat me up, and I was too weak and slow. I couldn't find him again. He's somewhere in this world, and he's going to hunt you down —"

"Whoa, whoa. Slow down. What are you talking about?"

"A boy broke into your tower last night," Elijah said, breathing heavily. "I tried to fight him, but he knocked me out cold. He had superhuman strength like no other. When I woke up, he was reciting your spell! He took your spell, Kiel. The one that leads to your Bethany's world. He said he was going to find you. I went through the portal and tried stopping him again, but he put a knife through my arm. Thank god it wasn't that deep, or else I wouldn't have been able to bandage it up and survive. I don't know where he went after that, so I spent the whole day looking for you."

Kiel clenched his fists, feeling an unusual burst of anger. He only tended to get angry when one of his friends was hurt or in danger. "Who did this? I can't believe he had the nerve to steal my spell and almost kill you! How did he know about my spell? And why would he be looking for me?"

Elijah shook his head. "I don't know, Kiel, but I came here to warn you. I was afraid that by the time I reached you it would be too late, but I'm glad I got to you first. This boy had a weapon, and he wasn't afraid to use it. You need to be very, very careful."

The boy magician nodded and brushed him off, not fully taking it seriously. "I can handle myself with magic. What's more important is that I get my spell back, which I can easily do. Here, I think this might help."

Kiel reached into his bag and retrieved the jar of magical ointment that Abdo had given him. He opened the lid and pulled Elijah's sleeve up, where the wound was. It wasn't deep, just like he said, but the piece of cloth tightly wrapped around it was soaked in blood. Kiel shivered at the sight. He wasn't used to the sight of blood. He scooped some of the ointment onto his fingers and slowly removed the wrapped cloth. He touched the ointment to Elijah's arm and began rubbing it gently into the wound. Miraculously, the wound seemed to close in on itself, and a new layer of skin formed on top of it.

"That could come in handy," Elijah commented, staring in awe at his fully healed arm.

Kiel grinned, then put the ointment back into his bag. "What can I say? My touch heals everything."

His friend laughed, despite the dark situation. "Does it? Maybe you should be a doctor instead of a magician then, eh?"

Kiel shrugged, the smile fading from his face as he helped Elijah back to his feet. "We should get going. You're still exhausted and you need to rest."

"But what about school? You can't just leave, can you?"

"This is more important than school. I'm only pretending to be a student, anyway. Let's go." Kiel put an arm around Elijah to steady him again as they walked. They retreated to an empty hallway before Kiel pushed a button, then grinned in triumph as a small light began buzzing around their midsections. The school disappeared around them, replaced by the inside of Kiel's non-fictional house. He helped Elijah over to the couch, where he laid down and looked around at his new surroundings. "This is your house?"

Kiel nodded. "It's the one I made with magic. Nice, huh? See, I even hung a poster of myself above my bed."

Elijah snorted, then closed his eyes. "Any luck with Bethany yet? Have you rejoined her two halves? That concept is still very confusing for me to understand. How could someone be split in half? It doesn't make sense."

"It makes perfect sense," Kiel said. "One half is in this world, and the other is in my world. She's still the same person, but her personalities are slightly different from each other. The other version of her loves adventure and thrill, but takes too many risks without thinking." He smiled a little at that. That was the side of her he loved the most, because it came through when she wasn't worried, when she was having the most fun. Almost like the sun shining through the clouds after a day of rain. "The version here is a little different. She doesn't like dangerous things. She's worried half the time, and she even has some trust issues because of that. She really likes rules."

"Uh huh," Elijah murmured, his eyes still closed. "Did you talk to her about being, you know, half-fiction?"

"Half- _fictional_ ," Kiel corrected. "And no. I'm still trying to get her to warm up to me."

"Shouldn't be that hard."

"No, it shouldn't," he agreed. "Either way, I'm trying my best. Once I feel like she trusts me, I'll tell her."

Elijah nodded, then opened his eyes. "Well I think if I were you, I would tell her right off the bat. Doesn't matter about trust. I wouldn't keep a secret like that from anyone — especially from the people I love. You shouldn't either. If I had a girl that I loved I would do what's best for her and cut to the chase."

"That's a little extreme," Kiel said, his face reddening, not matter how much he tried to hide it. "It's not like that with Beth. She's my . . . she's my _friend_."

Elijah smirked. "Only you would try to dissuade yourself from your true feelings. And you even have a nickname for her! It's clearly obvious to me what you feel when you talk about her with that silly smile on your face."

" _What's_ obvious? The only obvious thing is how obviously untruthful you're being," Kiel said, then shook his head with a laugh. "The only reason that I smile when I talk about Bethany is because she's my friend, and I enjoy being around her!"

Elijah's smile grew, but he blissfully didn't say anything else about it. "What about your other friend . . . what was his name? Owen?"

Kiel frowned. "Owen . . . he's gone. I have no idea where he is, but I have to find him. I just don't know where to look. He could be anywhere in the nonfictional world. But to think that he could be hurt, or in danger . . ." He shook his head. "I don't want to think about it. Once I rejoin Bethany's two halves, I know she'll have answers."

"She will. She's only lost her memories because of her being split in half, right?"

Kiel nodded in response, then took off his bag and set it on the floor. "I need to find this boy who stole my spell. Where do you think he went?"

"I don't know, but I could guess that he'll be at your school since he said he's looking for you. You should carry your magic wand with you. To defend yourself."

"Not magic wand. _Wand-knives_. And magic works differently here. I get tired easily when I use it. I'm even a little tired now after teleporting. I don't want to use it unless it's for emergencies."

"Well, this _is_ an emergency," Elijah said. "You need your magic for this. He could easily hurt you."

"I'm not sure about that, but I'll watch out for him," Kiel assured him. "But what about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean . . . what will you do now that you're stuck here? I would bring you back to your world, but I don't have my spell anymore."

"Don't worry about that part." Elijah shook his head. "I'll stay here for a while until we get that spell back."

Kiel nodded. He started to say something, but stopped. His mind drifted back to Bethany, then back to the boy who had stolen his spell. Who was this boy? Was the boy linked to his plan to reunite Bethany, somehow? If he was, Kiel would definitely be more than ready for a fight. Whoever he was, he was dangerous and meant to possibly hurt him. And if this boy knew about Bethany and intended to hurt her too, then he had to stop him.

* * *

 _"Well I think we better go, seriously better go. Said it's better than hanging on . . ."_


	9. The Boy

**_Every Breath You Take (by The Police)_**

 _"Every smile you fake, every step you take, I'll be watching you . . ."_

* * *

Kiel was in gym class when he first saw the boy. The class was doing several laps around the gym before the gym teacher blew a whistle and signaled for everyone to come over. Panting and sweaty, the kids fell into a walk and made their way over to their teacher.

"Alright," the gym teacher said, putting her hands on her hips. "Today we're going to switch things up. We're going to play a friendly game of dodgeball. That means no aggressiveness, no injuring each other and no hitting each other in the head. This could cause a concussion, which is something that nobody wants."

Half of the class looked excited, while the other half just looked tired. Kiel observed everyone's reactions with curiosity. He had no idea what dodgeball was, but he hoped it was dangerous. Everything at school was structured, with a set schedule for each day. Classes were long, and Kiel didn't learn anything that proved to be helpful. It would at least make things more fun.

"I'm going to pick team captains," the gym teacher said. "Nate and John, you're the team captains for today."

Two boys weaved out of the class and stood in front of the large group.

"John, you pick your team members first," the gym teacher instructed. John nodded, his eyes scanning across the group. They landed on Kiel for a few seconds, as if sizing him up. "I'll take the German boy."

Completely forgetting about his facade, Kiel didn't move. Then, someone lightly pushed him and he regained his senses, walking over to John and standing next to him.

"Yo, Kiel, who do you think we should add next?" John asked, then snickered. "We can leave the weak and skinny ones to the other team."

Kiel frowned. He didn't like the idea of judging someone based on looks. He prided himself on his looks, but he didn't judge others for theirs just because they looked a certain way. "Why shouldn't we take the weak and skinny ones? I'm just as skinny as any of them."

John looked annoyed that he was even disagreeing with him. "You're different from them. We need you on our team, not them."

But as they went through the process of picking teammates, Kiel noticed that John only picked a specific type of person. The loud ones, he realized. The muscular ones. The good-looking ones. He noticed that the other team captain, Nate, did this as well, until there were only a handful of kids left. The kids that were left were obviously not in the same social group as the others. They were slowly picked one by one until there was only one boy left. The boy was skinny, with round, thin-framed glasses and curls of strawberry-blonde hair.

"Wait, what's this boy's name?" John asked, turning to the gym teacher.

"His name is Oliver Bines," she replied. "He's a new student."

"Okay, Oliver. We'll take you."

Without even a smile, Oliver slowly walked over to their group. His eyes, which were a piercing blue, drifted from person to person, then landed on Kiel. His expression changed, and his eyes narrowed. The gym teacher started explaining the rules of how to play dodgeball, so Kiel turned his attention to that, since he had no idea how to play. He was too preoccupied in the rules of dodgeball to properly notice the look on Oliver Bines' face. Maybe if he had, he'd be able to prevent all the awful events that were about to unfold within the many weeks that he'd spend in the nonfictional world.

"Dodgeball time!" the gym teacher exclaimed loudly, causing a rush of excitement to run through Kiel. The two groups split and walked to separate sides of the gym. Dozens of balls were spread out around the room, and each person grabbed one, trying their best to throw it at another person. Within the first thirty seconds, many people had been tagged out, and were standing off to the side, watching intently and cheering for their team.

Kiel dove forward and picked up a ball, throwing it at a girl who wasn't paying attention.

"Ugh!" the girl cried, making a rude gesture and walking to the sidelines. He only grinned in response, then picked up another ball, throwing it at a boy. The ball hit him in the leg, and the boy rushed to the side as well.

"Nice job, Kiel!" John shouted from his right, throwing a ball at a girl.

"Thanks!" Kiel shouted back, turning to him.

He barely had time to turn back to the opposing team before a ball slammed into the side of his leg. As he walked to the sidelines to watch the rest of the game, he felt a little disappointed that it hadn't been more dangerous. Danger was the only thing that could really get his blood pumping. But he guessed it didn't matter, because nothing at school seemed to be much fun. He couldn't wait to get back to his regular routine of fighting dragons and saving worlds and going on adventures with a half-fictional girl and fully nonfictional boy. He missed those things more than he wanted to admit. He missed it a lot, actually.

After a competitive game of dodgeball, Kiel was in the locker room, ditching his sweaty (and questionable?) gym attire and changing back into his usual clothes. Upon arriving to the school, he was given a set of clothes to borrow specifically for the class. He didn't know why the non-fictional world took these classes so seriously. Everything, including even the gym class, was too structured for Kiel's taste. Plus, he was stuck in a building for eight hours each day. He hoped he could make it through the next week without going completely and irrevocably stir-crazy.

"Do they have dodgeball in Germany?" a boy next to him asked, shrugging on his shoes.

Kiel blinked, picking up his bag. He didn't think as he said, "Maybe they do have it in Germany. I really don't know. I've never played until now. You should look that up on the Int-ee-net. Or that Goo . . . gil thing. Whatever."

As he hurried out of the mostly-empty locker room, he didn't acknowledge or care enough to notice the sprouting of a wry smile on Oliver's face, almost as if to say "Got you".

* * *

Oliver Bines was not only in Kiel's gym class. He was also in his English class, his Math class, his History class, and his Chemistry class. He noticed that Oliver was in all of his classes, but he didn't think much of it. The only thing the boy did was sit and stare. Not at the board or the teacher, but at Kiel. It was unnerving. He'd stare at Kiel for the entirety of class, no matter where he was sitting in the room. When class would end, Kiel would shoot dirty looks at Oliver, and only then would the boy pretend not to notice. The boy was absolutely silent. He never said a single word since his first day of school. It had been four days of putting up with this, and Kiel was about ready to punch him in the face, because he hated the feeling of being constantly watched. It was almost as if Oliver was studying him, watching his every move.

After walking through a light snowfall, Kiel sat down for his first class of the day, brushing snowflakes out of his hair, which easily stood out given the fact that his hair was black. Fortunately, the other students never seemed to notice the fact that he was usually always covered in snow by the time he made it to school. But Oliver did.

Oliver, who was sitting a few desks to the right, turned around to look at Kiel. "You shouldn't keep walking to school, Kiel _Bauer_. It's easy to become sick that way."

The students who were listening all turned to look at Oliver, then back at Kiel. Kiel was shocked. This was the first time Oliver had spoken while at this school. Kiel knew that Oliver had been staring at him for the past four days, and probably had some strange obsession with him, but how did he know Kiel was walking to school? Was he stalking him?

"I'm not walking to school," he lied, pretending to be confused.

"Yeah," a girl said with a laugh. "Everyone here takes the bus."

"Kiel doesn't," Oliver said, his eyes boring into his.

"You wouldn't know that," Kiel shot back, feeling more uncomfortable by the second. What was this kid's problem?

Just as the bell rang, a tired-looking Bethany slipped through the door and hurried over to her desk. The English teacher's back was turned, so he completely missed the fact that she was late. Kiel sighed in relief, then watched as Bethany set her bag on the floor and took out her book, propping her elbows on the desk and putting her head in her hands. He hoped she wasn't going to fall asleep again.

Mr. Tompkins turned to the class, crossing his arms. "We're going to have a class discussion today about what happened in the chapter I assigned last night. Can anyone tell me how Victor Frankenstein reacted when he realized the monster he created had killed his wife?"

Oliver raised his hand. "He turned insane. He wanted to hunt down the monster until the world was safe from it. He didn't want his entire family to be killed at the expense of this horrid creature that he had created."

Some of the students laughed at his response. Mr. Tompkins ignored them, and smiled at the boy. "Very good, Oliver! I believe this is the first time you've spoken in class."

The boy didn't respond. He tilted his head in Kiel's direction, then began silently observing him again. Kiel clenched his jaw and turned to his book, trying to ignore him. Normally, he would've confronted Oliver right away and put an end to this. But he couldn't, since he was in school. He'd have to do it when they were alone. There was something very strange going on, and Kiel didn't like the feeling at all.

Near the end of class, Mr. Tompkins took out a stack of papers and began tossing one of each person's desk. "Pop quiz on the last five chapters! I hope you've all been reading."

The class groaned, except for Oliver, who remained silent. Kiel glanced at Bethany, who was warily taking out a pencil. "Did you read the last five chapters?"

"Of course!" she responded, looking slightly offended that he'd even ask that. "Didn't you?"

Kiel only nodded in response. He hadn't actually read any of the book. He was given it on his first day of class, but was more preoccupied with other things and didn't find the willpower or time to read _Frankenstein_.

His friends were well aware that he didn't have much patience when it came to reading. But it wasn't as if he was the only one in their group who wasn't a reader! Surprisingly, Bethany didn't read books all the time either, since she preferred jumping into books over reading them. Except that was _before_ she was separated. Now she seemed to have a love for reading, which made Kiel happy to see. Of all the things to change about her, at least her love for books stayed the same.

As for Kiel, he was never a big reader. He usually only read about magic. Maybe some adventure books, if he felt like reading one. He had once told Owen that he usually read the last page of a book first, if any books at all. After he said that, Owen was so horrified that he didn't speak to him for the rest of the day. Talk about being overdramatic.

Mr. Tompkins finally made it to the back of the classroom after a minute of walking around the room. He handed out the last two quizzes to Kiel and Bethany. "Kiel, if you have trouble with your vocabulary or spelling, don't be afraid to ask for help."

Kiel smiled. "I won't need help. It can't be that hard, right?" Then he looked down at this quiz, and immediately regretted saying anything. It really _was_ that hard.

After reading the first question and not having a clue what the answer was, he decided to use his German disguise to his advantage. He wrote short answers on each one, making sure to misspell every word until it was nearly impossible to read. When he was done, he put the finished quiz on the English teacher's desk.

"Sorry," he said with a shrug. "I'm not very good at writing English, as you can see."

Mr. Tompkins gave him a pitying smile, then looked down at Kiel's quiz, and his expression changed to one of horror. "This is not good. You must improve on this straight away. How would your family feel if they knew how bad your writing is? Writing is crucial!"

Kiel couldn't help but glare at him. It was hard not to react badly when he was technically an orphan. Well, only technically. He didn't have parents or a family, and his only father figure was the Magister, who he didn't want to associate himself with anymore. He still cared for his old master, but he didn't fully trust him as much as he used to. Dr. Verity was also related to him in a way, since Kiel was a clone of the man, but he'd rather not associate with Dr. Verity at all. It was simpler to identify himself as an orphan.

"My family? My family does —" Kiel cut himself off before he could say "doesn't exist." He took a deep breath. "You can't expect me to do perfectly, when clearly I'm great at everything else."

"Oh? I expect you to, all right," Mr. Tompkins snapped. "If you can't write in English, you can't get anywhere in life. I except you to already know the basics of writing. Time is money, Mr. Bauer."

"If 'time is money', then can I have a tutor?" Kiel asked, trying to change the subject because he was getting more irritated by the second. Even though he'd backed himself into a corner, the idea of having a tutor was suddenly a brilliant one. He thought that Bethany would be the perfect option for that. Plus, he'd get to spend more time with her.

"Fine. But I'm choosing them for you. I can't have you falling behind." The teacher went back to grading quizzes, and Kiel walked back to his seat, feeling disappointed.

"How'd you do on your quiz?" Bethany asked quietly. She had already finished her quiz.

"Not great," Kiel admitted. "I need to get a tutor. To help with my writing skills."

She nodded, then shrugged. "If you didn't do well, I don't blame you. You're from Germany. It's not your fault you don't take an advanced English reading class like I do."

He grinned, shaking his head. "Fair enough. Though I have a valid reason for doing badly, I'll catch up soon."

Bethany smiled a real, genuine smile. Kiel couldn't help but stare. The last time he'd seen her smile like this was three years ago, and it made him feel warm inside to know that he was making progress with their relationship. Then the bell rang, and everyone nearly jumped out of their skin. Kiel grabbed his things and put them into his bag, strapping it over his shoulder. He was about to turn back to Bethany, but a few kids started talking to him and he had no choice but to walk with them instead.

Once in the hallway, he glanced over his shoulder and saw Bethany walking with none other than Oliver. Why was she walking with him? Kiel shook his head, ignoring the creepy feeling he got when he saw the new boy and continued talking with his classmates. They were probably talking about schoolwork.

* * *

Bethany felt relief when English class ended. There had been a pop quiz today, which was always a form of torture. Although she genuinely enjoyed schoolwork and getting good grades, she was growing less fond of it as it got harder. Luckily, she was completely caught up with all of her work, so taking the quiz today had even a piece of cake. It was always satisfying to know all of the answers when doing a quiz or test. Especially when the quiz was about a book.

After the bell rang, Bethany hung back and took some time to put her books into her backpack. Most of the students had already fled the classroom, leaving only a few behind who were still packing up their bags. She noticed that Oliver Bines, the new boy, was silently packing his bag. For some reason, his name sounded familiar, but she didn't recall where she had heard it from. She didn't know much about him, except for the fact that he was well-known as one of the smartest kids in school. Apparently, he had won a math competition on his first day of school, and he had also aced every homework assignment and test he received, despite being a new student.

After glancing at him, Bethany threw her backpack over her shoulder and walked out of the classroom. Oliver followed close behind and cleared his throat. "Hello, Bethany."

She looked over in surprise. "Oh. Hi."

"I see you've been hanging around that boy, Kiel Bauer. Just so you know, he isn't where he says he's from. I'm just . . . looking out for you. You should stop hanging around a criminal."

Bethany's eyes widened, and she glanced over at Kiel, who was walking a good distance away with a group of people. "Wait, what?"

"It's true." He nodded, a sad look in his eyes. "He was that wretched boy on the News who almost killed poor Mrs. Ugliano. Now she's traumatized to go back to her house. She confided in me about it."

"But . . . the police said they never found him. I don't understand. Why do you think Kiel would do something like that? I can't imagine him hurting anyone . . ."

Oliver shrugged. "For one thing, he's a terrible actor. You hear that accent? Not real. He's not from Germany, either. He's a criminal who wants to hurt people. Next he might hurt you." His eyebrows scrunched, and he held his hands up. "You know what? Maybe I'm wrong. But I think you should confront him about it, at least. If he confirms it, you should get him kicked out of the school. It wouldn't be safe to have someone like him here."

"I think it's better if we leave ourselves out of it, if he really is dangerous," Bethany said firmly. "We'll let the adults handle that stuff."

"No, you don't get it. Adults won't suspect it's him unless someone gives them evidence."

"Sorry Oliver, but I don't want to accuse Kiel of something if he didn't do it. So why don't you do it?"

Oliver looked caught off guard. "Why would I confront Kiel about it?"

". . . Because you're the one who suspects he's a criminal?"

"I don't just suspect it. I know it. I know that he isn't who he says he is. And I think you should talk to him . . . well, because if _I_ talked to him about it he would never tell me the truth." Oliver then sighed. "Well, I need to get to History class."

"Isn't that in the opposite direction?" Bethany asked, frowning. She was getting more confused and bothered by each second.

"Yes. But I needed to tell you this first. Just for your own safety, since I've noticed he is always hanging around you. Goodbye, Bethany." He gave her a single nod, then turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

Bethany glanced over her shoulder at Kiel again. He was laughing and talking with a couple of students. He didn't seem or look like a criminal at all. But if Oliver, one of the smartest kids in the class had said it, then maybe it was true. After all, Mrs. Ugliano had said that a boy around her age with black hair and black clothes had attacked her. Bethany just hoped that Oliver was telling the truth, because if he wasn't, she would be accusing her newest friend of something he never did. She didn't want to loose Kiel unless he actually _was_ a criminal.

A few hours later, Bethany sat down at lunch, accompanied by a couple of other students. None of the other students, she conceded to herself, she knew too well. Most of them were friends of Liz, or friends of those friends. She had just begun eating when she saw Kiel coming over to her table, dressed exactly as he always was, with his gray wool coat matched with a newsboy cap. She quickly looked away, and pretended to be very interested in her food.

"Hi," Kiel said, setting his tray on the table with a soft thud. Unlike all of last week, he sat next to her instead of across from her. There was a chorus of greetings from their table, all from kids who Kiel seemed to be friends with.

"Bethany?" he asked, after she had been staring at her food for a few seconds. She felt uneasy around him now. She looked at him, trying to read his thoughts, but she couldn't tell if he really was a criminal or not. Was Oliver telling the truth? Was Kiel lying? Was Kiel going to hurt her like he hurt Mrs. Ugliano? A dozen suspicious thoughts went through her head, but she couldn't confirm them. Not until she confronted Kiel, which she definitely wasn't looking forward to.

She continued eating, only speaking to Kiel if he spoke directly to her. She felt bad about ignoring him, but what else was she supposed to think? It could all just be a rumor, but Oliver seemed to believe it wholeheartedly. Wouldn't what he said be the truth, then? Was Kiel really not the same cheerful, adventurous German boy who he said he was?

"Are you okay?" Kiel asked her, once lunch was over and they were walking out of the cafeteria. Bethany looked over at him, then looked away. Every time she looked at him or heard his voice, she tried to imagine him as a criminal, and she couldn't. The faking being German part, though? That was slightly more believable, but she still found herself doubting it as much as she believed it. She didn't know what to think.

"I'm fine," Bethany said quickly, speeding up and leaving him behind. She desperately wished Liz was here, so she could talk to someone about this. Liz was sick with the flu, and most likely wouldn't be at school for a few days. She kept her eyes downcast as she walked through the halls to her next class. Once there, she sat down and listened to her teacher's lecture, trying very hard not to wonder about other things.

* * *

During his last class of the day, which was Chemistry, Kiel couldn't focus on a single thing. The only thing that he could think about was the way Bethany had treated him at lunch. What changed? Had he said something wrong? He had been so careful to remain in a good mood around her. He didn't recall saying a thing that could've hurt her feelings. So why wasn't she speaking to him?

"Get into groups of two," Ms. Stacy, the Chemistry teacher said. "We'll do a short lab today."

Kiel tore himself from his thoughts, looking around. But he didn't have to look far, because a girl with shoulder-length brown hair nearly ran over to his desk, pushing a boy out of her way. "Want to be partners?"

He shrugged. Seriously, everyone at this school seemed to flock to him like magnets. Not that he minded, since he enjoyed the attention. "Sure, why not?"

Kiel stood up, and he and the girl walked over to the lab tables. They each sat down at a chair, and he picked up the instructions, reading through it carefully since he didn't understand a single thing about science. Out of nowhere, the girl started talking. At first, it sounded like a bunch of gibberish, and then Kiel realized, with growing horror, that she was speaking _German. Fluent German._

He forced a smile, but she continued to talk, staring at him expectantly. He quickly wracked his brain for the correct phrases, but he didn't remember many. He glanced over at the rest of the class. Everyone was staring at him, waiting for a response. He turned back to the girl, who had her eyebrows raised.

"Ich sehe, dass du Deutsch sprichst?" Kiel asked slowly, once he finally thought of what to say.

The girl nodded, a grin spreading to her face. "Ich bin in einem fortgeschrittenen Sprachkurs. Das ist toll! Ich habe mich nie mit einem echten Deutschen unterhalten."

Kiel blinked. What was going on here? He only recognized about four of the words she had said.

"Ich haben auf verlassen," he told her, then stood up and ran out of the room. He ran down the hallway, not even thinking about where he was going. He spotted the bathroom to his left and opened the door, walking over to the mirror. He was panting. He didn't know what would've happened if he had tried to keep a conversation going with the girl. He could hardly remember most of the words, much less have a fluent conversation.

The door swung open, and Kiel quickly moved to the sink, pretending to wash his hands. He glanced over at the door, and was surprised to see Oliver Bines standing there.

"Hey," Kiel said, standing cautiously a few feet away. He felt slightly uneasy, but kept a confident demeanor on. "How's it going, Oliver?"

The pale boy smiled, but the emotion didn't reach his eyes. "Wonderfully. Perfectly, in fact, now that I've caught you alone."

Kiel felt a chill run through him. What a creep, he thought. "That's cool . . . I get that from a lot from people who obsess over me. You know, with me being from Germany and all." He winked, then went back to what he was doing, staring hard at his hands as he ran them under the faucet.

When Kiel was done, he looked up. Oliver was silently staring at him; he hadn't moved. He steeled himself for a fight. This boy was suspicious and there was obviously something off about him. "Do you want something?"

"I do, _Kiel Gnomenfoot._ " He smirked at Kiel's expression, which he assumed was one of shock. "That's right. I know exactly who you are. In fact, I know your every move. I know what you're going to say before you say it."

Kiel's eyes widened. "Kind of unhealthy to be that obsessed with a person, _creep_. I don't know how you know who I am, but if you'd stop stalking me, I'd appreciate it. Why don't you drop your obsession and focus on something else, like a social life?"

Then Oliver took out a knife and darted forward faster than Kiel could see, kicking the back of his legs and causing him to fall to his knees. Kiel moved to elbow him in the throat, but Oliver wrapped an arm around him, holding him in a headlock and placing the tip of his knife a centimeter away from Kiel's temple. Kiel stopped struggling and went silent, knowing that one wrong move could end his life.

"Now that I can see you're taking me seriously, let's _talk_ ," Oliver said in a tone that meant business.

At this point, Kiel would cast a spell, then would enjoy himself further by saying a joke or winking. Even when he was scared or uncertain, he made sure to push that sort of thing, just to assure everyone that he had a plan. He had his magic, but he couldn't bring it to school. Especially after hearing that story about Bethany's book club, he knew that he had to be more careful about things. He couldn't bring his wand-knives or spell book to school. Where would he put them? A teacher would probably find them and mistake them for trash, which was the last thing Kiel wanted to happen.

But now, well, there was a knife against his temple, and he was regretting his decision to not bring his spell book or wand-knives with him to school. Things weren't looking good. Kiel swallowed hard, unable to move without being wounded. Suddenly, he realized exactly who this boy must be. "It was _you_. You're the one who stole my spell!" He struggled, trying to tear Oliver's arm away. "Give it back, or else you'll regret it."

"Sure, I'll give it back," Oliver said icily. "But only if you listen to what I have to say."

"And now you're here to, what?" Kiel asked. "Gloat at your success? I have things to do, and I really could care less about your achievements. Unless you're planning to give me back my spell. So what do you want from me?"

Oliver glared at him, tightening his hold on Kiel. "He wasn't wrong when he said you'd be annoying."

"Who —" Kiel started to ask, but Oliver pressed the blade against Kiel's skin, almost poking into it. "You must listen carefully, for I'll only say this once. I want you to stay away from Bethany Sanderson. Or else?" Oliver pressed the tip of the blade harder into Kiel. He tried not to whimper as pain spread through his head. Oliver slowly pulled the knife away, and Kiel saw a small amount of blood on the tip.

"You're crazy! If you hurt her, I _swear_ you're going to pay for it," Kiel told him in a dangerously low voice, trying to ignore the pain. "I may not have my magic with me right now, but I won't hesitate to punch you senseless if you hurt anyone I care about. If I had brought my magic, though, this conversation would be going very differently." Despite his fear, he winked.

"Oh, Kiel." Oliver scoffed without emotion. "Have you not figured it out yet? Bethany won't be the one getting hurt. But if you go near her, if you talk to her, if you even look at her, then _you_ will be the one getting hurt. Not her. I'd advise you to stay far away from her, or else you might find yourself in a . . . situation. And even if you don't stay away from her at first, I've already planted a seed in her head. She already is beginning to suspect that you're that criminal from the News, and I also told her that your little facade of being a German exchange student is all a fake. Don't try to rejoin her two halves, or else you will pay a price. You've already seen what I can do. I beat your friend with ease. I can and I will do the same to you."

For a beat, Kiel didn't breathe. He couldn't. He only felt fear and shock resonating through his body. Who was this Oliver boy, and how did he know so much? Why was he doing this? First, he had stolen Kiel's spell, and now he was going to completely destroy his relationship with Bethany so that Kiel wouldn't be able to join her two halves! So _that_ was why Bethany wasn't talking to him at lunch. Oliver had her convinced that Kiel was a criminal! The part about him pushing Mrs. Ugliano was true, of course, but he never intended to hurt her.

Now, though, he definitely intended to hurt Oliver. He would _not_ get away with this.

"If you do not do as I say, I will have no trouble making your death look like an accident," Oliver continued, repositioning the knife under Kiel's chin. "And in the meantime, if you want to be spared, you'll know to stay far away from Bethany. It's the smart thing to do, you know?" Then the sinister boy smiled and removed his grip around Kiel's neck, placing his knife into his bag. He opened the bathroom door and walked out, humming softly to himself.

The second Oliver left, Kiel gasped, lifting his hands to his neck. It was slightly sore, but the pain would wear off soon. He was more worried about Bethany. He had to stop Oliver, but he knew that he had a horrible disadvantage. Once again, he should've listened to Elijah about bringing his wand-knives to school. Why hadn't he listened?

With quivering legs, he slowly stood up and used a paper towel to wipe the blood off of his temple. He couldn't let this get to him. He had to continue befriending Bethany, no matter what. The fictional world depended on him, Owen depended on him, and so did Bethany. Next time he saw Oliver alone, he'd be ready. He'd cast a forget spell, and then the boy wouldn't be able to remember a thing. He assured himself with that plan, but for some reason he still felt incredibly uneasy. Why was he still shaking? He'd faced plenty of villains before.

 _Not ones that know my every move and weakness_ , a voice in the back of his head reminded him. And now . . . the villain had the upper hand. Oliver had gone as far as to try convincing Bethany that Kiel was a dangerous criminal. Kiel could only hope that Bethany wouldn't believe him. If she did, things were about to get a whole lot harder.

About an hour later, after taking a cold and tiresome walk, Kiel made it to his house. He was still shaken up from the encounter with Oliver, but he tried to not let it get to him. He had to be bluffing. He had to be. It was hard to convince himself of that, though, when Oliver had physically poked a knife into Kiel's temple.

Sighing, he opening the door of his house and stepped into the warm air. He wiped the snow from his shoes and threw them casually on the floor, also taking off his bag and coat. "Elijah? Are you here?"

"In the kitchen!" Elijah shouted from the other room. Kiel walked over, then stopped and stared with a wide eyes. "What did you do to my _house_?"

There were cut-out designs everywhere. There were designs hanging from the windows, taped to the fridge, and scattered all over the wall. Elijah was sitting at the kitchen counter, sipping a mug of tea. "This is what happens when you go to school and leave me here all day with no one to talk to."

"Where did you get the paper?" Kiel asked, walking over to the wall and observing a cut-out design of a cloud. "And the tape?"

Elijah shrugged. "I found it around here somewhere."

Kiel shot him a look, feeling more irritated than normal due to the events of that day. "I decorate my own house! What if I invite Bethany over one day and she sees this all over the walls?"

"She'll think you have good taste. Everything looks fine to me. Except for that poster of yourself that hangs above your bed."

"Hey!"

Elijah laughed, then peered at Kiel. "Hey, what happened to the side of your head? Did you fall? That would've been great to watch." He laughed again, and Kiel grinned half-heartedly.

Kiel thought about lying, but he knew this was too important to ignore. "Not exactly. I was attacked."

The smile disappeared from his friend's face, replaced by a worried expression. "Are you alright? Was it that boy who stole your spell?"

Kiel nodded slowly, lifting a hand to his injured head. Although the wound was small, it had taken a while to stop bleeding. "His name is Oliver, and I think he works for Nobody. He said that I need to stay away from Bethany, or else he's going to hurt me." He forced a smile, though it wasn't easy to smile at a time like this. "But I have it handled. I'll keep my magic with me."

Elijah sighed. "This might be bad news, but the good thing is we know what it also means: Nobody must be very afraid, or else he wouldn't have sent someone to separate Bethany from you. If you rejoin Bethany's two halves — that'll be that. Nobody won't have the ability to take over our world. I say we pay a visit to this Oliver boy's house and lock him up somewhere."

Kiel pulled out a chair from under the table and sat down. "I would, but I don't know where he lives. He's stalking me. He knows that I walk to school, he knows my real identity, he's in all of my classes, and he even convinced Bethany that I'm a criminal! I mean — he has everything figured out."

Elijah grimaced. "Whatever he threatened you about, I don't think you should avoid Bethany. That's what Nobody wants. It's what Oliver wants."

"I know that," Kiel said. "I'm not going to avoid her. Oliver's only going to fill her mind with lies about me, and that's the last thing I want."

"Well, then, why don't you go to that library she's always at?"

Kiel shook his head. "I don't think she'll be there."

Elijah shrugged. "You'll only know if you go. Worst case scenario is that she's not there. Also, we need to get food. The only thing in here is three triangular pieces of . . . bread with sauce on it."

Kiel snorted. "It's called pizza. The only reason we have that is because I stole it."

"Ah. That's always one way to get food. Don't you have a way to pay for it?"

He shook his head. "The currency here is different. Everyone uses this green paper called 'money', and I haven't figured out how to get my hands on it."

"You better figure it out soon, boy, 'cause I'm hungry."

"Just eat the pizza!" Kiel said, gesturing to the fridge. "I'll get the money later."

Elijah grumbled but obeyed, opening the fridge and taking out the remaining pieces of pizza. Kiel smiled in triumph, then walked out of the kitchen, mentally going over the things he'd say to Bethany when he visited the library tonight. He went to his room, pushing the door slightly ajar and stepping through. It was small compared to the rest of his house. He hadn't wanted to build a large or elaborate house, judging from his past experiences of using magic in the nonfictional world and getting exhausted. He glanced at the window, which had a view of snow-covered farmlands. In his closet were the few clothes he owned; he had been meaning to get more but he had never found the time. Next to the window was a small desk, which was mostly strewn with magical supplies, his spell book, and his schoolwork.

Doing a quick glance-over to check if he needed anything, Kiel grabbed some papers and put it into his bag, preparing himself for his trip to the library. If Bethany was going to be there, he needed a good purpose for being there too, even if it meant forcing himself to do some homework.

He teleported to the library, then opened the door. As always, there were quite a few people in the library. Especially since it was late afternoon. Kiel's eyes automatically went to the checkout counter, where Owen normally was. But he wasn't there. He felt a rush of disappointment, but dismissed it. He would get Owen back soon.

He walked past some bookshelves, looking around at the rows of tables. In the back of the library, he caught a glimpse of bronze hair. He grinned, then quickly changed his expression to a neutral one and sauntered over to Bethany. She was doing homework, and didn't even notice his arrival until he cleared his throat.

"Doing anything fun?"

She looked up. "Kiel? What are you doing here?"

He shrugged, giving her a grin. "I'm doing my homework. What a coincidence that you're here, too! Can I sit with you?"

Bethany frowned. "Sorry, no. These seats are, um . . . reserved."

" _All_ of these seats?" Kiel questioned, waving his hand at the other various seats around the table.

She shot him a look. "Yeah. All of them."

"Did I say something to upset you?" he asked.

"No," she said a little too quickly, looking away. After a moment, she looked back at him. "I'm doing my homework. I have a lot . . . so I can't talk right now. I'll see you at school."

Kiel found it very hard not to yell in frustration. He had been so close to becoming her friend and rejoining her two halves . . . and now Oliver had clearly convinced her — or tried to convince her — that Kiel was an evil criminal. But did she actually _believe_ that?

He licked his lips, which had suddenly become very dry. "I heard that Jonathan Porterhouse still has that set for the me — the _Kiel Gnomenfoot_ movies at his house. Do you want to visit it?"

Bethany shook her head. "I've already seen it."

"Okay . . . do you want to watch a movie again?"

"No thanks."

Kiel ignored her tone and sat across from her, taking out his schoolwork. "Are you any good at Chemistry? I've been trying to work through these problems, but they seem to be getting out of hand." He looked up at her and smiled, and he thought he saw the flicker of a smile back.

Bethany sighed, leaning over the counter to look at his papers. "I'm not that good at Chemistry either. I'm only good at English."

"I figured you'd say that."

She gave him an annoyed look. He only winked. "I didn't mean it in a bad way. You're smart. You're definitely better in school than I am." She leaned back into her chair and didn't respond, so he started to work on his homework, an uneasy feeling growing within him. Around an hour later, after both of them quietly did their homework, Bethany abruptly stood up and grabbed her books. "I have to go home."

"What do you want?" He laughed. "My permission?"

Bethany rolled her eyes, then started walking away. "See you later."

"Wait!" Kiel quickly stood up, scraping his chair over the carpet.

"What?" she asked, looking slightly irritated. "Kiel, you can't wait until the last minute to speak. I have to leave."

"Look, I just want you to know that you can't trust Oliver Bines. He can't trust a single word that comes out of his mouth. Whatever he told you . . ."

"How do you know if he told me anything?" Bethany asked.

"I saw you two talking."

"Wait, so you're stalking me now?" She took a step back. "And you're listening to my conversations. That's _totally_ not creepy."

"No, it isn't like that," Kiel protested. "I don't trust Oliver. You shouldn't believe everything he tells you. You just can't trust him. You can't."

"Why not?"

"Just — don't," Kiel said, feeling frustrated now.

"It's not like me and Oliver are friends, or anything, but he knows what he's talking about," Bethany said. "He doesn't seem like the type of person to be dishonest. So who I talk to or become friends with is none of your business."

"Yes, it is. He's spreading rumors about me."

"Are you sure they're only rumors?" She was looking at him expectantly, now, almost as if she already believed it; Kiel realized that she probably suspected they were true.

"They're rumors," Kiel said, giving her a solemn, almost pleading look. "I swear that I'm not a criminal. I swear."

Bethany gave him a confused look. "Um . . . I need to go." She turned around and hurried away, her long ponytail swinging behind her.

Kiel wondered how everything had gone so wrong. Why did it have to be like this? He wanted them to be friends. He wanted Bethany to trust him. He had to keep trying, though. He couldn't bear the thought of his plan not working, no matter what Oliver threatened him with.

He stayed at the library for a few minutes longer, taking time to pack up his bag. The library was slowly growing emptier, and the light outside was darkening. He wanted to get home with enough time to eat dinner. He walked through the sliding doors and made his way to the back of the library, which was a safe space where he could teleport to and from without being seen. But before he could pull the teleportation button out of his pocket, he heard a familiar voice, and it sent a cold chill down his spine.

"I thought I told you to stay away from Bethany."

Kiel looked up from what he was doing, only to see Oliver standing a few yards away. His blood froze. Tension that hadn't been there a second ago hung in the air like thick fog. Kiel put a hand on his bag; he had stuffed his wand-knives inside his bag in case of emergency.

"Bethany's not stupid," he said. "She won't ever believe you."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that? Your feelings are obviously clouding your judgement, but she believes me. And she'll continue to keep believing me, because you know why? I gave her evidence."

Kiel scoffed. " _Clouding my judgement_? I don't believe that. I don't think your 'evidence' will be very effective, either."

"How come?" The boy took a few, slow steps toward him, almost like a predator hunting it's prey. "The rumors are true, aren't they? You aren't a boy from Germany, and you are the one who attacked that old woman."

Despite the cold, Kiel was beginning to sweat. "That's — that's not the point. I might be pretending, but so are you. Except you're doing it for the worst reasons. I'm doing it for the right ones."

Oliver glared at him, still walking closer. "I warned you about what would happen if you talked to Bethany."

Kiel raised his eyebrows, forcing a grin. "Oh, yeah? What are you gonna do? I have my magic with me now. You can't threaten me with a knife."

He moved to take his wand-knives out of his bag, but before he could retrieve them he felt himself being knocked backwards against the outer wall of the library. He gasped; his vision was filled with stars. He kicked his foot blindly, but Oliver pushed him down hard to the ground, punching him in the stomach. Kiel grunted and swung a fist at him, hitting him in the face. Oliver didn't even seem to react. With almost a superhuman speed, he quickly pinned both of Kiel's arms down. Kiel struggled against him, using his legs to kick wildly.

Oliver punched him in the stomach again, and he exclaimed as the air was knocked from his lungs. Kiel continued to fight back, using all his power to kick and punch the boy. Oliver punched him in the face several times, and he gasped as he felt his head banging against the hard, icy concrete. Oliver pushed Kiel forcibly down again, wrapping his hands around Kiel's throat.

Kiel struggled, almost managing to break free a few times but the other boy's strength was nearly impossible to beat. He kept fighting back, but he was quickly becoming exhausted. Kiel extended a hand, trying to reach for his wand-knives, but Oliver pinned his arms down as well. Kiel sent a hard kick into Oliver's leg and he grunted, loosening his grip on Kiel's throat. Kiel gasped for air, then kicked several times again and even managed to direct a punch into Oliver's throat. Oliver made a frustrated noise and brought his knee onto Kiel's chest, holding him down further.

He tightened his grip around Kiel's throat, and Kiel choked, his mind racing as he writhed against him. He tried kicking him again, but Oliver held him tighter. It was becoming hard to breathe. He could feel his heart beating in a panicked frenzy, and he tried desperately to break free. Kiel fought as hard as he could, blindly trying to punch the boy. It was no use. He had never experienced anything like this. Usually, he always won his fights.

Those were his last thoughts as his head became impossibly dizzy, and he was too exhausted and weak to fight back. He coughed and choked and gasped for air, but nothing helped. His throat felt like it had closed up. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the tight grip on his throat slackened, and he was too tired to breathe.

"If you continue trying to get Bethany back on your side, you'll face worse pain than this. Nobody will be thankful that you're finally obeying his wishes," Kiel heard Oliver say. Kiel could not respond. He felt the pressure being lifted from his body, and he slowly, blissfully, blacked out.

* * *

The entire day had been confusing for Bethany. Her thoughts were mangled, and she didn't know what to believe. Everything in her life used to seem so predictable, and she felt confident when she knew the outcome of what would happen. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out, trying to make sense of everything.

Clearly, Kiel was stalking her. Why else would he come to the library? He seemed very intent on spending more time with her, but every time Bethany looked at him, the only thing she could think of was what Oliver told her. She had avoided Kiel a lot today. Not because she thought he was dangerous (she doubted he could hurt a fly), but because she didn't know how to confront him.

When Bethany saw him at the library today, all of those confusing emotions had bubbled back to the surface, and she didn't know how to speak to him. It was hard to not be suspicious; she already suspected that he wasn't from Germany, but she didn't know if that was true. She wanted Kiel to admit it. Why couldn't he? He was her friend. Well, kind of. Bethany decided that she'd confront him about it when she saw him at school, which gave her an entire weekend to sort out this confusing mess in her head.

Bethany shook her head at the idea of him pretending to be someone he wasn't. Why would he make up something like this? To lie about something like that made her loose all respect for him. Did he fake his identity to make friends? Was he that desperate to be liked, or was he actually a dangerous criminal, like Oliver had said?

After gulping down dinner, Bethany went up to her room and threw a hand under her pillow, searching for the book that distracted her from her problems. She felt something hard beneath her hand and curled her fingers around it, pulling it out from underneath it's hiding spot. Bethany had to be more careful when she read books; she didn't want her mom to discover she was still reading late at night, or else her mom would probably have a fit and would forbid her from reading.

The books helped. Though it didn't make much sense, books held as much necessity as the air she breathed. They were comparable to her organs and her cells; without them she probably would go crazy. She couldn't live without them. Unlike her former friends, they never lied, cheated, or rejected. They would permanently be there for her, no matter how much she pushed others away. Books were her safe space, and they never disappointed. They were there just to tell their stories, without expecting anything in return.

Opening _Pick The Plot_ to it's bookmarked page, Bethany sat on her bed and fixed her gaze on the first words of the chapter. Maybe if she was lucky, this confusing mess with Kiel would be solved by the time she was done reading. Hopefully.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon had been arguably boring compared to the events of that morning. After lunch, the dinosaur hunting team had gone back into the jungle in search of more dinosaurs. Much to Tobias's disappointment and Owen's glee, there were only a few more close-calls with dinosaurs, although they weren't life-threatening.

Owen only felt relief when the prisoners were led back to their cells to get washed and ready for dinner. He was exhausted after today, and the only thing he wanted was sleep. That, and a long shower. Though he wasn't sure where the showers were, or if this book even had them.

The long line of time prisoners were led on either side by guards, who directed where each person would go. As they walked through the hallways, Kara beside him, Owen let his mind wander. Although every hallway looked similar, he had begun to notice which ones looked familiar and which didn't. That was definitely a warning sign that he'd already been here too long. He needed to plan an escape, and _fast_.

"I have a plan for tonight," Kara said, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"What?"

"We're gonna look for the time watches. But we can't get caught. We need to somehow get around the guards. They're always patrolling everywhere at night."

"They don't go to sleep?" Owen asked, feeling shocked.

Kara shook her head, her short hair moving with her. "I don't think so."

Ugh, really? Of _course_ the bad guys never slept. This was the way it always worked in books. Except Owen didn't have an invisibility cloak or one of Kiel's spells to help him out. He only had himself, a boy who messed everything up, and Kara, his friend who was world-famous time traveler.

Once inside their cells, Owen prepared himself for the night, trying not to get too excited as his hopes crawled up. What if he actually . . . _escaped_ tonight? That would be incredible. He already had it all mapped out in his head. They would look for the time watches, find them with no problem, and then Kara would transport him to a different time. Kara was the main character, and that meant she was going to escape the time prison no matter what. If the main character didn't escape . . . well, that wouldn't be much of a book. It wasn't an 'if' about how they'd escape, but _when_. This flooded Owen with newfound hope, because he knew in the end he would get out of this book. And if he didn't figure out a way, Kara would, because she was the main character.

Maybe once they were out of here, Kara could turn back time to when Nobody was out of the picture and Bethany was safe! Owen would head back to the _Doc Twilight_ comic books, find her, then they'd bring along her father and they would head home. He'd say something to make Bethany laugh, and Bethany's father would thank him over and over for his heroic deeds. Mission accomplished. He would be a hero!

WHAT PATH WOULD YOU LIKE FOR OWEN?

He needs to go to bed! The search for the time watches can happen later, and he needs rest!

He should stay awake and keep visualizing himself as a hero.

 _Go to bed for a few hours_ , a calming thought floated through his mind. _You shouldn't worry about staying awake to find those time watches_. Owen nodded to himself in agreement, then laid down on his bed, purposely not paying attention to how scratchy the blanket was. A sudden drowsy feeling overcame him, and his eyelids dropped. He fought to keep himself awake, opening his eyes again and training them on the slowly-darkening ceiling. He counted down the hours until their quest to find the time watches would begin.

He and Kara would have to wait until about midnight to look for the time watches. They agreed that this was the best time, because all of the other prisoners would be asleep and they'd be less likely to get caught in the pitch-blackness.

Suddenly, there was a loud banging noise, and Owen jumped up, flinging the covers off of him. It was completely dark, except for the moonlight that shone through the bars on the window. He turned in time to see that his jail cell door was now open. He quickly stood up in a daze, feeling confused. He strode over and slowly pushed his head out of the cell door, hoping he wasn't going to get eaten.

Instead of a dinosaur, though, he found himself staring into a pair of blue eyes. Kara was standing next to his cell, wiping her hands. Judging from her body language, she seemed annoyed.

Owen smiled guilty, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Ready to get those time watches?"

"How long have you been asleep?" she demanded in a hushed voice. "I was calling you."

"I wasn't asleep!" Owen defended. He edged out of the doorway, glancing back at the open door. "You gotta teach me how to open that. That's awesome."

Despite herself, Kara grinned. "I know. Let's get going. I've waited almost forty minutes for you!"

Owen's eyes widened. "You have? Oh, god. Kara, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep and it's all my fau—"

She laughed, startling him into silence. "I love how gullible you are. It just brings me joy."

"Ha-ha," he said, rolling his eyes. He started down the empty hallway, trying to walk as quietly as possible. Kara sidled up beside him, and they continued walking down the long hallway, glancing at each jail cell they passed. As Owen had hoped, all of the prisoners they spotted were asleep and snoring (some, rather loudly) in their beds. They made it to the end of the hall, where an air lock door was. Owen tried the door, and was surprised to find it was unlocked. Together, he and Kara turned it to the right, then swung it open. It was heavy, and by the time they was done, they were both breathless.

Kara motioned for him to keep quiet, then stepped out into the next hallway, moving slowly. Owen mimicked her movements, not bothering to close the door behind him. They walked into the dark hallway, spotting a three guards a few yards away. They were on patrol duty, and were walking up and down the halls, seemingly very awake. Owen nudged Kara and pointed. Her eyes widened, and she quickly ushered him into the next hallway, which was vacant. They turned to face each other.

"We should keep heading through the hallways to the right," Kara whispered. "I think more guards will be in the center of the building, and less will be everywhere else."

"Okay, but how are we going to get past those guys?" Owen asked in a hushed voice. "There's no way _all_ of them will be in the center of the building. There are practically millions of them."

"Yeah, but that's what we have you for."

Owen tilted his head in confusion. ". . . Not following."

"You know," Kara said, making a gesture. "Your time powers!"

She knew about his powers? Right, she did! He remembered her saying something about his powers earlier. But how did she know about them? Had he shown her in the past? If so, when, and what for? Would that technically be in Owen's future?

He shook himself from these confusing thoughts, derailing this train of thoughts. It was only going to give him a headache.

"Oh," he said. " _Ohhhh_. Can I use that to stop time? Wait a minute." Owen suddenly realized something from earlier. "That was what happened this morning. It had to be."

"What are you talking about?"

"After that fight I had with the man. Time froze for me, and I had no clue why. I was the only one unaffected, and then these agents showed up, and —"

"Agents?" Kara repeated, her eyes widening. "Those were time agents! Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

He shrugged. "Today was so busy. I forgot about it."

"How could you forgot about _that_? Wow, I can't imagine why they didn't detect you. I've never seen one, but I've heard horror stories about them taking time travelers into custody and never hearing from them again."

Owen shivered. If he hadn't froze himself at the right moment, that could've happened to him. And getting taken into custody twice in the past two days? He was glad that hadn't happened. It wouldn't seem very fair.

"Come on, let's keep searching for the time watches." Kara tapped his arm, bringing him out of his thoughts. She started walking again, peering into each airlock door they passed. He followed her, making sure to be extra careful not to trip on something or make a lot of noise.

As they walked to the end of the pitch black hallway, Owen noticed something. A small popping sound, similar to the one he'd heard this morning when time had stopped. It was faint, and it was nearby. Owen stopped what he was doing and rushed into a room, which was in the direction of where he assumed the noise was. Kara walked in after him, looking around. "What are you doing?"

"I heard something," Owen said, peering into the darkened room. It was hard to see. He strained his ears for any other noises but heard none. "Do you think it could be the time watches?"

"What?"

"That noise. It was a popping sound. I heard the same thing earlier, only it was much louder."

Kara frowned. "That noise is what you hear when someone is time traveling. But no one can time travel here. Not inside the time prison."

"Oh," Owen said, feeling disappointed. He thought that maybe if someone had time traveled here, they would be here to rescue him. But seeing as there was no indication or clue that a person time traveled here, it wouldn't happen. He scanned the room once more, then they set off out the door to resume their search. They walked down a few more hallways, stopping in each room to see if the time watches were in there. But they never were. Seriously, where did they keep the time watches? It was getting frustrating, and Owen didn't want to get any less than at least five hours of sleep.

"We'll find them," Kara said encouragingly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "The TSA just keeps them hidden somewhere secret."

Owen let out a breath. "I thought they'd be quicker to find. And easier! That's how it always is in books."

"You and your nonfictional things." She shook her head, smiling a little. "Nothing is meant to be _that_ easy. You have to work for the things you want."

He glanced over at her. The moonlight was cast on the side of her face, illuminating the tip of her nose and the line along her face. Her eyes drifted lazily over the place, looking at every label on each door.

"I know," he said. Kara turned to look at him, and he held her gaze for a moment before a blush crept onto his face, and he looked away.

"Hey, who's there?" a man's voice barked, and Owen immediately knew they'd been caught. His head darted to one end of the hallway, then the other. To the right, a flashlight beam was shone in their direction, and he heard footsteps.

WHAT PATH WOULD YOU LIKE FOR OWEN?

Owen gets caught.

Owen doesn't get caught.

"I'm sorr—" Owen started to say, but Kara elbowed him in the ribs and motioned for him to follow her.

"Get back here!" the voice shouted. Apparently the guard had spotted them. Owen looked over his shoulder and saw that the soldier was running after them, already close to closing the distance between them. Owen grabbed Kara's hand, pulling her along into a sprint. They rushed down the hallway as quickly as they could, turning the corner into the next one and almost skidding across the floor, which was slightly slippery since it had just been washed.

"Hey!" the guard yelled again, his flashlight bobbing in his hand. He followed them into the next hallway, then yelled to a few other guards. Seconds later, three more guards joined him in the chase. Owen was panting heavily, and there was a stitch forming in his side. The guards only seemed to be gaining speed, while him and Kara seemed to be slowing down. To add to this, they were much shorter than the guards, and Owen wasn't exactly on the track team. But he couldn't give up.

They continued sprinting, stumbling down another hallway and almost colliding with two more guards. The guards shouted in surprise, attempting to grab them, but they ducked under their arms and continued running. Owen heard heavy footsteps behind him, and shouts filled his ears. They turned another corner, and Kara grunted, trying to simultaneously rub her leg.

Owen's heartbeat was prominently loud, and he found himself gripping Kara's hand so tightly that their interlocked fingers were turning white. But she was just as distracted, so she didn't seem to mind. They flew down a set of stairs, and turned into another hallway, still sprinting at a fast pace. Owen's legs flew across the room, possibly faster than he'd ever remembered running before.

All of the sudden, he felt a strange tingling sensation, and his heartbeat seemed to amplify. First, his legs started vibrating, and the buzzing spread throughout his entire body, then from his arm into Kara's hand. He put a hand on his chest, feeling his abnormally fast heartbeat. Panic set in. What was happening to him? Behind them, the deep shouts of the guards turned into slower calls.

"Geeeeet baaaaackkkk hereeeee!" a woman yelled. Owen looked over his shoulder, bewildered. They seemed to be moving much faster than before, now, and the guards behind them were running in slow motion. He glanced over at Kara, who seemed to be seeing it too.

She was looking at him with a wide grin. "Your time powers! I never would have remembered that!"

"Huh?" Owen glanced back and forth from the slow-motion soldiers to her. They slowed down to a light jog. "So I slowed them down?"

Kara shook her head, clearly used to this. "You sped up our own time. You can either speed up or slow down yourself, and it worked with me too because we're touching." She held up their interlocked hands. "See?"

Owen nodded, a smile forming on his face. While the guards were still slowed down, he tugged on Kara's hand and quickly pulled him into an empty supply room. It was big enough that it wasn't too cramped, and the light from the moon shone through a nearby barred window, illuminating the room with a pale glow. They stumbled into the room, clutching their sides and breathing heavily. Kara leapt over to the door and closed it as quietly as she could, leaving it a centimeter open. A minute later, the guards ran past in slow motion, apparently not seeing them.

"That was close!" Owen said, looking at Kara with wide eyes. In their relief of not being caught, they both laughed.

"I know where the time watches are." Both of the kids jumped, turning around to see a woman had a shaved head. She wore a long dark outfit, and there was a strange energy about her.

"Um?" Owen said in response. He had tried to seem intelligent and reply with a witty comeback, but as usual, his words failed him. He stood up straighter, observing the mysterious woman. She didn't seem dangerous, but she definitely didn't seem trustworthy.

"You do?" Kara asked, looking surprised. She then seemed to realize something, and at the same time, Owen did too. "You sped up to our time. There's no way that could be possible. Not without a time watch. How did you —"

The woman suddenly leapt forward and punched Kara hard in the face. The girl let out a barely-audible gasp before she crumpled to the ground, her eyes closed shut.

"No!" Owen shouted, crouching down to see if Kara was okay. She lay on the floor, her hair covering the majority of her face. Besides the fact that she was unconscious and was no longer in Owen's time, she seemed fine. Her chest rose and fell at a very slow pace, but at least she was still breathing. He leapt back up, glaring at the woman. "Who do you think you are? You think you can just knock out my friends like that? You don't even look like a time prisoner. And you aren't wearing an orange jumpsuit, either. Who are you? How do you know where the time watches are? How did you catch us when I'm using my powers?"

The woman was straight-faced. "Those are a lot of questions."

Owen backed away until he was standing in front of Kara. He took a slightly protective stance, trying to seem brave. "They are. And I want you to answer them. Because that'd be super rude if you didn't! Most importantly, where are the time watches? If you're so smart, how do you know where they are? You don't even have one on you! That just proves that you're lying! Unless you're not, and you're just waiting for the right time to get the time watches." He scratched his head. "I guess that would make more sense."

She stayed silent for short time, but it was long enough to make Owen squirm and fidget. "You talk quite a bit when you're nervous, don't you?"

"My mom tells me it's charming," Owen said, trying to sound indignant. "But you didn't say where the time watches were."

"That's right, I didn't. And I won't."

"What? So you're just gonna knock my friend out and then not tell me anything?"

She nodded. "Yes. You shouldn't be roaming the halls so freely, little boy. Guards are everywhere. Watching everywhere."

Owen scoffed. "I don't see you having a problem with it."

The woman shrugged. "That's because I'm not from this time."

Wait, what? Owen cocked his head in confusion, meaning to say something but instead saying nothing. He watched as the woman rolled up her sleeve, revealing a time watch. It was flickered slightly, but besides that it seemed to be in good condition.

"You have one?" Owen gasped. "But how?"

"I must tell you this information. Listen closely." The woman reached over and grabbed his wrist, then pressed a button on her time watch. He could barely breathe as the world changed around him, and everything seemed to speed up. The sick feeling that entered his body subsided a second later, and the sound of insects chirping filled Owens's ears. He realized that he wasn't in the time prison anymore. He was back in the jungle. Was this a memory from earlier today?

As if reading his thoughts, the woman shook her head. "I'm showing you this because it's crucial for you to know. You aren't supposed to be in this world, Owen Conners. In a time that will feel short to you but will actually be very long, you will break out of this time prison, and there is a chance you will escape to where you are needed. But there is also a chance that you will not. I see many possibilities for you, and there is only one outcome if this does not work."

Owen shuddered, taking a step away from the woman. He fidgeted nervously, looking around at the jungle. He couldn't see anything except the green landscape around him. If this was the future, where was the time prison? "How . . . how do you know all of this?"

"I'm not qualified to answer that question. But what I can tell you is this: you will be outside in the jungle. You will be chased. Only then is when I see an escape route for you. If you look up at precisely the right moment, you will see your way out."

Owen stared at her, dumbfounded. "What do you mean? What does _that_ mean?"

"It means that you must make the decision. If you want to stop Nobody."

Then she grabbed his wrist again and pushed the button on the time watch, sending them reeling back into the present day. Owen blinked rapidly, feeling very confused as he slowly came back into focus. He widely looked around, but the woman was gone. He was in the time prison again, and Kara was still on the floor. He knelt down, tapping her lightly on the arm, and she stirred.

"Kara?" he asked, tapping her again.

Kara made another noise, then slowly moved her body. Her eyes flickered open, and she groaned. "What happened?"

"You got knocked out."

"I did? But —" Kara blinked, tilting her head upwards. "Wait, what happened to that woman?"

Owen shook his head. "I don't know. But she wasn't a time prisoner. I think she's like you."

"Like me? You mean immune to paradoxes?"

He shook his head again. "Not like that. She had a time watch, and for some reason she could time travel out of here. She told me stuff about my future. Something about . . . an opportunity to stop Nobody. I don't know. It's really frustrating to not know what it means."

"She was giving you a message," Kara said, her eyes widening. "There are lots of time travelers like that. They travel everywhere through time, giving warnings and messages to people. I always thought that might create a paradox."

"Will me knowing about my future create one?" Owen asked.

Kara shrugged, sitting up and brushing the hair out of her face. "I don't think so. When people tell you about your future, they'll normally tell you as little as possible to prevent you from jinxing yourself. But what she told you? That could mean anything."

Owen bit his lip, trying to think. No ideas immediately came to mind. What 'way out' could it be? How would he know when to look up at the right moment? And how could that help him stop Nobody?

"Come on," Kara said. She stood up, rubbing her face where she'd been punched. It was already starting to bruise. She seemed to shake it off, however, and looked over at him. "I think we should get back to the cells. We've been gone too long." She walked forward and swung open the door, only to step back with a gasp.

Standing in front of it was their dinosaur hunting instructor, Tobias, surrounded by the other guards who had chased them.

"See? I told you they ran in here," one of the woman said, gesturing to them. Owen took a step back, exchanging a worried look with Kara.

Tobias's mouth stretched into a grin, and he cracked his knuckles. He reached in and roughly grabbed both of them by the elbow.

"Hey, let go!" Owen cried, attempting to rip himself out of the bigger man's grasp. He held steadfast, and another guard appeared at his side, holding a taser that was inches away from Owen's arm. One wrong move and he'd be toast.

"Naughty kids," Tobias growled, in his ever-present deep, booming voice. "I hope you enjoy punishment, because tonight you'll get lots of it."

* * *

 _"Since you've gone I been lost without a trace. I dream at night, I can only see your face. I look around but it's you I can't replace. I feel so cold and I long for your embrace . . ."_

 **A/N - Wow you guys are really gonna kill me for almost killing Kiel! HAHA I'm not even sorry. I had to spice things up to keep the story interesting, and to keep everything super difficult for Kiel. Why do you think Oliver knows so much? Is Bethany going to want to be friends with Kiel anymore? Will Kiel stay away from Bethany? If you have any thoughts/ideas/requests for future scenes/or feedback, feel free to leave a review** **!**


	10. Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back

_**Feels Like We Only Go Backwards (By Tame Impala)**_

 _"It feels like I only go backwards, baby. Every part of me says go ahead. I've got my hopes up again, oh no, not again. It feels like we only go backwards, darlin' . . ."_

* * *

Owen and Kara were dragged down various hallways, grunting and struggling to break free as they were held by the dinosaur hunting instructor and the group of Time Security Agency guards. Owen didn't know where they were going, and he didn't want to know. Wherever they were going, it definitely wasn't good.

"Bring them in here," Tobias said, coming to a halt and opening the door of a room, then gestured for the guards to bring Owen and Kara along.

Owen was half-pushed, half-dragged forcefully into the room, which was dimly-lit. It was about the size of a large closet, with two tables that sat next to a small circular table. Along the wall were a row of machines that Owen couldn't depict the use of. Before he could get a good look at anything, the guards pushed him onto the table.

"Hey! Get _off_ me!" he yelled, trying to fight against them and get off the table. The guards grabbed his flailing arms and legs, forcefully pulling them down and strapping him to the table with leather straps. Owen's eyes widened and he jerked around even more, attempting to break free of his bonds. He had to get out of here. He felt as trapped as a caged animal, and he desperately tried to free himself but each time he tried, he got more winded.

At the entrance of the room, Kara was pushed forward. Just like Owen, she made several attempts to fight back, punching and elbowing and kicking, but the guards appeared to have no issues holding onto her. They lifted her onto the second table and strapped her down. They ignored the many insults she gave them, instead backing away and standing in a line beside the wall.

Tobias slowly closed the door, then clicked a button on the electronic pad to the side. The door sealed shut, making a loud groaning noise. His gaze drifted from Kara to Owen, who remained stuck on the tables. "What were you doing out of your cells?"

"Let us go!" Kara yelled, flinging her head around and fighting against her bonds. "You can't keep us strapped down like this!"

He studied the kids a moment longer before a dark chuckle escaped him; Owen realized that laughter wasn't always a joyous thing. "Oh, Kara. As if I'd listen to a word out of your stupid mouth. I asked you a question. And I didn't hear an answer, did I?"

"We were taking a walk!" Owen offered, then cringed at his reply. He wasn't the best liar.

"Sometimes, you kids really need to learn things the hard way, don't you?" he said with disdain, his eyes narrowing. "I'll ask you one more time, or else both of you are getting tasered. What. Were. You. Doing. Out. Of. Your. Cells."

"W-We were looking for the time watches," Owen said, his mouth trembling.

" _Owen_ ," Kara hissed.

He gave her an apologetic look. "He was going to taser us! What _else_ was I supposed to say?"

"You —"

"No talking!" Tobias barked in a loud voice, causing the two kids to fall silent. "One more word out of your mouths, and you both get something worse than a taser in the side, you hear?"

Despite being on a table, Owen quickly nodded, beads of sweat pouring down the back of his neck. He glanced at Kara, who had stopped moving altogether. If looks could kill, the daggers that were evident in her glare would've had Tobias dead by now.

Owen watched with baited breath as Tobias stalked towards Kara, then crouched down and began talking to her in a quiet voice. Owen could only hear snippets of what he was saying, which wasn't enough to understand what Tobias was telling Kara. He could see Kara's facial expression change from furious to shocked. He fought his initial instinct, which was to yell at Tobias for talking to her. Instead, he focused his energy on tugging on his arms and legs, trying to make the leather straps come loose.

Just as Owen thought the strap might've loosened, Tobias straightened up, giving Kara one last look before turning around. "I hope that'll get you to stop messing up everything in the Time Security Agency."

"What did you tell her?" Owen asked, immediately ceasing with his fidgeting and simultaneously trying to seem tough.

"Nothing you need to be concerned about," Tobias harshly replied. "Just making sure you prisoners know your place. Maybe think about the consequences of your actions, hm?"

He leaned in close to Owen's ear, so close that he could feel Tobias's hot breaths hitting his cheek. Owen shuddered, trying to break out of his bonds. "You've been real annoying these past few days, and I'm getting pretty tired of it."

Owen tried leaning away, but it only resulted in Tobias shoving him back into the table. "Soon, and I mean _soon_ , I'm gonna make sure you pay for every stupid remark you've given me. You've gotten off lucky, so far. But prisoners should know their boundaries. If you try to look for, or if you try to break into the time watch facility again — or anywhere — I'm separating you from your friend."

He remained silent, but on the inside, he was panicking. They couldn't separate him from Kara! He would probably never see her again, and he would have a worse chance of escaping than before.

Tobias slowly backed away from Owen, a menacing glare on his face. The boy averted his gaze, his heart racing and his face flushed with embarrassment. He wished that he could break out of his bonds and escape, but he couldn't think of any ways to do that. He didn't even know if his time powers would be useful at a time like this.

"I think you'll learn your lesson if we do this the classic way," Tobias said, nodding in affirmation at the soldiers behind him. "Once I get these electric shocks started —"

A man in a lab coat entered the room, looking nervous. "Sorry to interrupt but . . ." He glanced behind Tobias at Owen, then at Kara, and then at the guards standing next to the doorway. "We need Tobias to use the sedatives to calm the dinosaurs down. We're having difficulty in the caging room. The dinosaurs are becoming more difficult to control. The T-Rex has woken up. They're restless."

Tobias hesitated, then glanced at Owen and stepped back. "Have any of them escaped?"

"No, sir." The man shook his head. "But we are concerned with the way they're acting, and at this rate they might —"

"Has anyone been attacked? Injured?"

"No. They have not."

"If they are caged, why do they need the sedatives?" Tobias asked in a low tone, turning to face the man.

"They need to calm down, sir."

Slowly, the dinosaur hunting instructor nodded. "Alright. Take these two back to their rooms."

Owen watched this exchange with curiosity. He knew that the dinosaurs were caged somewhere, but he didn't know why, or for what specific reason. He could tell that there was something deeper going on.

As Tobias and the man in the lab coat left the room, the guards walked briskly over to Owen and Kara, removing their bonds and pulling them off the table. Owen shakily got to his feet, feeling a little unsteady. He exchanged a look with Kara, who looked rattled. He wanted to comfort her, since she still seemed upset by what Tobias had told her, but he knew he'd have to wait until they were alone.

The two kids were escorted out of the room — less forcibly than they'd been when Tobias was with them. As they walked down the hallways that led back to the jail cells, Owen sneaked glances at Kara, growing increasingly worried at her behavior. She wasn't fighting back against the guards, and she was completely silent, staring at her shoes.

"Kara?" Owen whispered.

"Shut up!" a guard said, prodding Owen in the back with a rod. He bit his lip and glared at the floor, anger rising in his chest. Sudden tears flooded his eyes, and he blinked them away, trying to focus on the present. He needed to help Kara, somehow. He couldn't be useless and emotional, like he normally was.

Owen wondered how him and Kara were ever going to get those time watches. He had to get them as soon as possible, or else he might never escape. If he got his hands on a time watch, he could save Bethany. And if him and Kara hadn't gotten caught, they probably would've found the time watches by now. How had the guards caught them so easily? This was both unfair and frustrating — in _so_ many ways.

By the time they got back to their cells, Owen was so tired that he was practically dragging his feet across the floor. The guards opened his and Kara's jail cell doors, ordering them to head inside. Not in the mood for protesting, Owen walked into his dark cell and jumped at the sound of his barred metal door behind him being closed with a _bang_.

After removing his shoes, Owen looked over at Kara's cell. It was dead silent, and he wondered how upset she really was. Slowly, he made his way over to the spot where they cells connected. "Kara? Are you okay?"

"Yes." Her voice was slightly muffled, and he assumed she was in her bed. It was too dark to tell.

"A-Are you sure? I just, I mean — you seem upset. Really upset. What did he say to you?"

Kara sighed in response. Owen placed a hand on one of the bars, gently curling his fingers around it. He swallowed, organizing his thoughts, then spoke after a few seconds of figuring out what to say. "I'm sorry. It was stupid of me to think we could find the time watches without getting caught." He looked at the ground, a familiar feeling of shame registering through him.

" _What_? Owen, it's not your fault," she said. "It's mine."

He shook his head, despite her not being able to see him. "Not in any way is it your fault. It's mine! It's always my fault. I wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible, and I didn't stop to think — I didn't, well, I . . ." He took a deep breath. "I don't know what Tobias told you, but whatever he said, it's not true."

"You don't know that."

"Yeah, I do."

"No, you _don't_ ," Kara said, anger laced into her tone. "He's right, trust me. I destroy the whole world, no matter what I do. Even when I try to save the world by being here, I still manage to mess up people's lives. I mess up everything, you know? No matter how hard I try to prevent myself from it, it _still_ happens."

At first, Owen didn't respond. He felt shocked, to say the least. He was surprised at what she said, not just because her words seemed so raw, but because he _understood_. He understood everything she was saying, on a much deeper level than he could interpret. Ever since his first adventure into _Kiel Gnomenfoot and the Source of Magic_ , he had messed everything up without even trying. And that wasn't even the last time he'd messed things up. He had done it when he encouraged Bethany to seek out Doyle, which resulted in him and Kiel going on a wild goose chase to rescue Bethany. All because of his idea. There were countless other times that he'd missed everything up, too. He still blamed himself for it. But now that someone else felt the same way, somehow . . . he felt less alone.

"You aren't the only one. I mess up everything, too. I'm just . . . ordinary. Compared to, well, everyone I know," Owen said quietly, unsure why he was so comfortable speaking freely about his insecurities. He didn't even talk to Bethany, his best friend, about his deepest insecurities. He looked at Kara. "Hey, if we both mess up all the time, maybe we'll even each other out."

He heard a small chuckle escape her. "You think?"

He smiled. "Yeah."

"For the record, I don't think you're ordinary," Kara told him. "An ordinary person wouldn't be amazing. And you definitely wouldn't be here, in this prison."

Owen blushed at her words. Nobody, besides his mother, had ever told him that. "You think I'm amazing?"

"Of course I do. Don't make me explain myself!" Kara said with a laugh.

After a few minutes more of quietly talking, Owen retreated to his bed, giving in to the grogginess that consumed him. He'd definitely be tired tomorrow. As he laid in bed, he tried convincing himself that tonight had been worth it. Hadn't it? Even if they hadn't found the time watches, even if they had gotten caught, it was still worth it.

Owen looked up at the ceiling, right into the eyes of what he assumed were the readers. "Bethany? I might take a little longer than I thought. Just . . . please give me a sign if you're out there. I want to know if you're okay." He waited, watching for any sign that she was there. Clearly, she wasn't, because nothing happened.

He sighed. "Please stay safe. I'm going to get out of this book, I promise. Just . . . hold on a little longer, alright? I'll be there soon. I'm going to stop Nobody before he separates you."

 _And I won't mess anything up ever again_ , he added silently. He couldn't let Bethany down again.

* * *

The first thought that popped into Kiel's mind was how pain could be comparable to a balloon. It creeped into his throat, squeezing tight like the tie on a balloon, forcibly squeezing off all the air. Kiel knew this, because he had seen balloons when he was twelve. Back then, they were bright yellow, illuminated by the glistening sun. They blinded him, and he loved it. They had heads like aliens, and they were dancing all around in the wind, held down to the Earth only by a thin string. Unlike balloons, though, this pain would not pop, or change colors, or float away. It was always there, like a shadow. It clung to him, holding steadfast around his neck, daring him to test it's strength and take a gulp of air.

A hand laid on his shoulder, shaking him. Kiel heard a panicked voice, but it sounded so far away. This must be a dream. He sank into sleep again, hoping the pain would dissipate. But it didn't. The hand shook him again, and he groaned, slowly being pulled back into consciousness.

"Kiel?" The hand moved away from his shoulder, then was briefly pressed against his forehead. "Kiel, are you alright?"

It seemed like a long time before Kiel found the strength and willpower to open his eyes. The ever-present blackness was still there, but it was the slightly brighter. It took him a moment to recognize his surroundings. He squinted his eyes, shifted his gaze from the dark sky to the figure sitting next to him. Their arm was still on his shoulder, and the person— the woman — looked mortified. Waking up on the ground had become a habit of his, apparently.

Kiel slowly opened his mouth, and was surprised to find that the words would not come. He struggled to say something, but it came out as sounding more like a strained gasp for air. He tried clearing his throat, which only brought pain shooting up his entire throat. His voice was barely a whisper when he finally formed his lips to say the words. "Ms . . . Con . . . Conners?"

"Oh, thank god you're awake," Owen's mother said, sighing in relief. She was typing something onto her phone. "Lay still. I'm calling an ambulance."

Ambulance? Kiel's eyes widened. No way. He couldn't go there. Not another encounter with the News or the nonfictional police. They'd only send him to jail, and he wasn't even positive if he could escape, since this was the nonfictional world. That would only make things worse.

Despite the pain that shot through him, he managed to get his hands beneath him. He struggled to push himself off the ground, grunting as he did so. He blocked out the feeling and pulled himself the rest of the way into a sitting position, struggling to breathe. By the time he was upright, Ms. Conners was already on the phone, talking in a panicked voice.

"N . . . no," Kiel said, trying to speak as loudly as he could. His voice would only come out in a whisper. His hands curled into fists, squeezing tightly in frustration. He had never felt so weak and tired at the same time. He hated this feeling. He hated it more than anything else.

"Who did this to you?" Ms. Conners demanded once she was done talking on the phone. She stared him up and down, worry lines etched on her face. "I want to get the police in on this. You look terrible."

"No. Po . . . pol . . . lice —" Kiel started to rasp, but Ms. Conners patted his arm. "Don't worry, honey. Whoever hurt you, I'll make sure they're caught."

"No —" He tried to protest again, but Owen's mom shushed him. He sighed, hoping that his body language would express more than his words could. As they waited in silence for the ambulance to arrive, Kiel's mind started to race. It was the only thing in his body that was still in good working order.

Everything rushed back to him: Oliver threatening him once, then twice, and then choking him into unconsciousness. Kiel winced at his latest memories and reached up to feel his neck, just to make sure it wasn't all a dream. Tender bruises lined the area, and Kiel suspected they were already beginning to darken if they hadn't already. He gently pressed a finger into his neck, trying to feel where the most damage had occurred. A sharp, stabbing pain filled the area, and he quickly retracted his finger with a sharp intake of breath.

In the distance, there was the noise of a siren, which was growing increasingly louder by the second. Kiel didn't have much knowledge about the nonfictional world, but he knew what that meant. The ambulance had arrived. He moved his head, trying to see if there were any escape routes nearby. He was still at the back of the library, so there wasn't much here except for a few dumpsters and an empty parking lot. And judging by his physical state, Kiel assumed he wouldn't get very far if he tried to make a run for it.

Apparently not seeing his discomfort, Ms. Conners wrapped her arms around his body, hooking them until his armpits and lifting him off of the ground. Kiel stumbled forward but managed to catch himself before he could fall. Ms. Conners's hand went to Kiel's back, steadying him. "Do you need any help with walking? It's the least I could do."

Kiel shook his head multiple times, because talking only brought him pain. He was a little unsteady on his feet, but he shrugged off Ms. Conners's offer of help. He didn't want to rely on anyone else when he could clearly help himself. He especially didn't want to admit that he was too weak.

"Okay," she replied, watching him warily. She was walking slowly beside him, her arms outstretched as if to catch him. "Let's get you over to the ambulance. You've been bleeding, and it's hard to say where your injuries are. I was worried for a minute there. I've never seen anyone look so beat up."

Kiel looked down at himself in surprise, and felt a small dose of relief when he saw that his body wasn't covered in blood. It was most likely his face she was talking about. It hurt almost everywhere, specifically his stomach, neck, and head. Kiel had gotten into small fist fights before, but they never had been this serious, and this was his first time getting choked. He wondered if there was any serious damage to his throat. Being choked was a traumatizing experience, and he was tempted to use a forget spell on himself, just so he wouldn't have to relive the memory every time he attempted to speak.

It had been way too long since he had a fair fight, and he was worried that he wasn't as impressive as he used to be. The only reason he lost, he reminded himself, was because he was out of practice. That was the only reason. On a better-prepared day, especially using magic, Kiel could've taken Oliver down.

Kiel's brain still felt foggy, so it was hard to piece the events together. He wasn't even sure how long he'd been unconscious. From the looks of it, he could guess that he'd been lying on the ground since early this afternoon. Now it was completely dark out, with a full moon and not a single trace of light in the sky. He didn't remember going home after the fight, and he hoped Elijah wouldn't be too worried about him.

They came around the side of the building, walking at a slow pace. The ambulance was pulling up to the entrance of the library in a hurry, and medics were already opening the doors. Two people in purple scrubs came over to him, and Kiel was ushered into the back of the van. He mustered a glare, trying to get the message across that he _clearly didn't need anyone's help_ , but the people didn't notice. They were too busy taking out medical supplies, talking to each other, and observing his neck.

What felt like only a few minutes later, the ambulance came to a screeching halt in front of a new building. The group tumbled out of the van, and despite his protests, Kiel was carried and plopped onto a wheelchair (was that really necessary?). A nurse was behind him, pushing him inside the sliding glass doors. He squinted his eyes at the sudden bright light that came from everywhere. The hospital was filled with action; the loud noises of machines, phone calls being answered, and doctors walking in and out of each room. Kiel was pushed down the hallway, the nurses walking a bit slower than they had been a few minutes ago.

He was brought into a small room with a bed that had various machines surrounding it. Various people helped him out of his chair and onto the bed, which was covered with a thin white sheet. He leaned his head against the pillow, taking note of how weirdly stiff it felt. As the nurses grabbed equipment from some of the drawers, Kiel sniffed the air. It smelled strange, almost like a mixture of sickness and soap.

A nurse walked over to him, holding a white disinfectant cloth. She gently brushed it against his cheeks, forehead, and nose. Kiel's face was still stinging with pain, but he tried not to appear weak as she wiped the cloth across his face. When the nurse pulled her hand away, the cloth was completely red. She tossed it into the trash can. "That's some fight you were in. Your face was bleeding in various places, but luckily for you, the bleeding has stopped. That means that your nose wasn't broken. If it were, you'd need to get surgery."

Kiel soaked the words in. He was slowly becoming aware of the seriousness of this situation. He felt relieved to know that he wasn't gravely injured, despite the issue with his voice and throat.

She walked back over to Kiel, ordering for him to sit up. He did so, then jumped back as the nurse grabbed the ends of his shirt, attempting to take it off of him. The nurse frowned. "I can't see any wounds if your shirt is covering your body."

He made a face. Fair enough, he thought. He allowed the nurse to peel off his shirt, revealing a bruised stomach and chest. The nurse moved her fingers along Kiel's stomach and ribs, pressing gently into them. Kiel inhaled sharply as the pain intensified, and the nurse quickly retracted her hand.

"You have bruised ribs," the nurse stated. "They'll take a while to heal. You'll need plenty of rest, and you'll need to drink lots of water. Got it?"

Kiel's eyes widened. " _Bruised . . ._?" He instantly winced, unable to say another word.

The nurse pulled his shirt over his head, sliding it back over his body. "There's another thing you need to do. Rest your voice. Don't talk unless it's absolutely necessary. Your vocal cords are very damaged, and it may take a long time for them to heal. I'd recommend a few weeks without talking."

"A . . . few . . . _weeks_?" Kiel rasped, choking over his words. He lifted a hand to his neck, making a half-attempt to massage it.

The nurse nodded, stepping back and grabbing a roll of cloth from the counter. She unrolled it until it almost reached the floor, then cut it with scissors. She walked back over to him and lifted the gauze, slowly wrapping it around his forehead. Once she was done, she placed a similar bandage on his nose. "You're very lucky that nothing was broken. I never understood why boys your age feel the need to punch each other. One or the other always ends up with a broken nose. Can't you just solve problems rationally?"

Kiel lifted his eyebrows. "Well . . . I . . . was . . . winning . . . the . . . fight. That's . . . rational . . ."

"I doubt you were the one who was winning, with the shape you're in. Also, what did I say about the talking?"

"Trust . . . me . . ." he croaked. "I . . . won."

The nurse gave him a disbelieving stare, then forced a smile. "We're going to do some x-rays, okay? Just to make sure that your body is in good shape."

Good shape? He almost scoffed. In general, he considered himself charmingly attractive and athletic, but right now he doubted he was anywhere close to being in "good shape". His ribs, neck, and vocal cords were all bruised, after all.

A short while later, a swift knock was heard at the door, and a doctor came in. "Hello, Kiel. My name is Dr. Cho. I see you're all checked out and bandaged up. You ready for a nice, fun x-ray?"

Kiel shuddered. Nice and fun were not adjectives for whatever an "x-ray" was. The only thing he could compare this with was Charm's ray guns, which were deadly. This whole place reminded him of Dr. Verity and Quanterium, and although he knew these people were genuine, he couldn't help being untrusting. Anything related to science made him feel a little sick.

Despite his feeling of unwillingness, Kiel slowly nodded. There wasn't much else he could do besides allow the people to help him. If he refused the help, he might never recover. That wouldn't be helpful at all. He needed to hit Oliver back, and hard. He didn't care what the cost might be. He only cared about Bethany's safety, and he couldn't protect her if he was too weak to do so. He wouldn't be able to defend even himself if this crippling injury remained.

He slid off the bed and followed the doctor into another room, which had a large, buzzing machine that hovered over a table. Kiel stopped in his tracks. He was expecting Dr. Verity to appear out of nowhere and shout, "Ha! You should've escaped when you had the chance!"

Sensing his discomfort, Dr. Cho smiled at him. "You'll need to lay on top of here. We're just getting a simple x-ray of your body. Would you like to know the details?"

Kiel shrugged in response.

"Okay. X-rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation. This specific x-day will create pictures of the inside of your body. The images show the parts of your body in different shades of black or white. This is because different tissues absorb different amounts of radiation. Calcium in bones absorbs x-rays the most, so bones look white. Fat and other soft tissues absorb less, and look gray. Air absorbs the least, so lungs will look black. With this, we'll be able to see if anything is broken or out of place."

"I can . . . see . . . why . . . your . . . parents . . . named . . . you 'Doctor'," Kiel observed, taking in all of this new information. He hadn't payed too much attention to what the doctor said. It all sounded like a bunch of scientific words jumbled together.

". . . They didn't. It's my occupation title."

He half-grinned. "Occupation . . . title? I've . . . got . . . some . . . titles . . . of . . . my . . . own." Titles that he was quite proud of, specifically _Kiel Gnomenfoot and the End of Everything_ ; it had the most appropriate level of importance.

Dr. Cho just stared at him, clearly at a loss for words, then patted the spot on the table. "I promise this procedure will be quick. And afterward, I'll even let you watch some TV while you wait for your folks to arrive."

An excuse to watch more TV? Kiel instantly felt more encouraged to go through with this, despite every cell in his brain screaming at him that this could be a trap. Deep down, he knew that it wasn't a trap. The people here were friendly, and unlike his past experiences with Quanteriums, they had no malicious intent. He slowly walked over to the glowing bed and cautiously laid down on it. He was far from trusting anything that was science-related, but for the sake of his health, he forced himself to stay put.

Dr. Cho pressed a few buttons onto the machine, and a loud beeping noise was heard. "Lay still. If you move around, we'll need to redo the x-ray."

Kiel didn't respond. He was too busy staring, transfixed at the machine that moved above his head. It made loud noises as it passed over his head, looking like a dark, looming shadow. When nothing bad happened, he relaxed, allowing the machine to finish it's work. When the x-ray was done, Kiel rose from the table, wanting nothing more than to leave.

The doctor motioned for him to follow, and Kiel was once again walking through the brightly-lit hallway of the hospital, his wide-eyed stare trailing from the bustling people to the machines and equipment they pushed around. They walked down a few more hallways, Kiel struggling to keep up as he still felt very weak. He collapsed into a stiff, plastic chair. Just as the doctor had promised, a TV sat across from him. It was smaller than Bethany's, and it hung on the wall. The volume was muted and the captions were on, but Kiel didn't care too much about that. He was grateful for the distraction. He didn't want to focus on how much his body was hurting. Not only that, but he didn't want to admit that him, Kiel Gnomenfoot, famous boy magician and savior of all Magisteria, had no clue how to fix this mess.

But there was no time to waste feeling sorry for himself. Oliver was still out there, probably cooking up another of his evil plans. Bethany could be in danger right now, and what was he doing besides sitting around and feeling physically exhausted?

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, simply watching and waiting. Exhaustion kicked in, but he was too stubborn to close his eyes. He had to keep them open. He couldn't give in to the temptation, to the weakness. He had to remain in control of something. At one point, after his eyes had glazed over from being locked on the bright TV, the door opened. It was Owen's mother.

Her eyes were downcast when she first walked in. Then she threw a glance around the room. Her eyes landed on Kiel, and she smiled. "Hi. Are you feeling better?"

Kiel nodded, deciding to lie so she wouldn't have to worry. "Yes. Why . . . are you . . ." He coughed, which normally wouldn't have been painful, but now it was. "Here?"

"I wanted to check in on you, just to make sure you're alright. Are you parents here?"

He shook his head.

Ms. Conners took a seat beside him, eyes trailing from his now-bandaged face to the dark bruises on his neck. She looked slightly horrified at the sight. "Kiel . . . I understand that this just happened, and it must've been horrible, but I want to know who did this to you. You didn't deserve to go through that, especially at your age."

He stared blankly at her. "I . . . I don't . . . remember."

She sighed. "Can you at least try to remember? Whoever did this to you should be at the police station."

Kiel thought about telling her, then went against it. This was his problem, and he'd fix it on his own. Turning Oliver over to the police would be a very bad idea. He couldn't put anyone else in danger. He had to get rid of Oliver by himself, before any more damage was done. There was a chance that Oliver would hurt more people, which might include Owen's mom if Kiel told her about Oliver. Kiel couldn't have that happen. This time, he wouldn't hesitate when he faced Oliver again. Kiel would cast a spell on him, and that sickening boy would be no match for his amazing spell casting.

He shook his head, feeling internally sick. "Sorry . . . I can't."

At that moment, the nurse walked over to him. "Young man? We have your paperwork for the x-ray."

She handed a thick packet to Kiel. He stared blankly at it, turning it over in his hands. It had a bunch of pictures all over it, but he was too tired to decipher what they meant. "What . . . does it . . . mean?"

"It means that you don't have any broken ribs," the nurse supplied. "You're all good to go. Just remember to take care of your body. Lots of rest, water, and healthy foods. Keep the talking at a minimum."

Kiel winked. "I . . . will . . . do the . . . opposite . . . of what . . . you . . . said."

The nurse seemed to take his words seriously. "You are in a critical condition. Regarding your vocal cords, they will take a long time to heal. If you don't follow our instructions, your symptoms won't improve."

"Ready to go?" Ms. Conners said to Kiel, glancing between the woman to him. He nodded quickly, standing up and stuffing the paperwork into his bag. The nurse didn't try to stop them as they made their way out the door.

The drive back to Owen's house was swathed in heavy silence. Kiel stared out the window, his head leaned against the seat as he watched the houses and trees zip past. Bands of trees, thin and skeletal-looking, lined the winding road that they drove across. It was completely dark, aside from the narrow path the car's headlights illuminated, along with the streetlights that stood along the edges of the road.

"A few years ago, we went to Six Flags for the first time," Ms. Conners said, breaking their silence and startling Kiel from his trance. "He wanted to go on all the roller coasters."

Kiel blinked, turning his head to look at her. It was the first thing she had said since they were at the hospital. "Who?"

Owen's mother glanced at him, then back at the road. "Owen. He begged me to take him, so I took him for his tenth birthday. He didn't always have many friends, not until you and Bethany. And since his dad is . . . well, not around anymore, I was the only person available to take him. I was never a fan of amusement parks. I always prefer reading books over anything else."

Kiel smiled at that. Owen and his mother were more alike than he realized.

"We went on Kingda Ka. You know that one?" He didn't, but he didn't question it. He wasn't entirely sure what an amusement park or "Kingda Ka" even was. Luckily, she wasn't looking at him.

"You can imagine how scared I was. Owen was scared too, but at least he seemed to be having fun." Ms. Conners wistful smile faded into a frown. She lifted one hand from the wheel to wipe at her eyes. She sniffled loudly. "Sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable. I . . . I just haven't had the chance to talk to anyone about this since he left. Every time I try remembering him, I start crying."

"It's . . . okay, Ms. . . . Conners," Kiel said, his weakened voice barely audible.

Owen's mother glanced at him, and he could see her lips pursed into a tight smile, her eyes shimmering with unfallen tears. She released a long sigh, turning back to the road.

He wanted to say something reassuring, but the numerous words that he'd usually say just wouldn't come. He wasn't great at comforting others, and he tended to get uncomfortable when people — specifically his friends — cried in front of him. He tried to think of the right words to say. He was used to talking constantly, and now that his voice was hardly working, it was difficult to cope with the sudden disability. The only thing he wanted to do was talk, and now that he couldn't without hurting himself, he felt weaker.

"He's . . . not . . . dead," he reassured her, mostly just reassuring himself. He had a hunch that Owen wasn't dead, but Ms. Conners probably didn't have that same hunch. Owen was most likely just missing, but . . . what if he _was_ dead? Kiel felt an unpleasant shiver run through him at the idea. He shoved it away — the thought of losing his best friend for good — and returned back to the present moment.

Her head snapped in his direction, her white-knuckled hands curling tighter around the wheel. "Thank you for saying that, Kiel. All this time . . . I haven't — I haven't known if he's alive o-or —" She wiped her eyes again, sniffling. "Or if he's . . . you know. H-He hasn't contacted me, so I really don't know. It's been three years of not knowing where he is, a-and I wouldn't be surprised if he's . . ."

"If . . . he's . . . dead?" Kiel supplied softly, finishing her sentence.

Slowly, she nodded. "I don't want to believe that. I really don't. That's the last thing a mother wants, you know? But I don't know what to think. I've tried calling him, I had the police look for him — I tried everything."

"Don't worry . . . he's . . . alive," Kiel rasped, trying to sound encouraging. "One day . . . he'll . . . come . . . home."

Ms. Conners reached across the divider and squeezed him lightly on the shoulder. "You're very nice for saying that. I . . . I really hope that one day he will. It's been so long since I've seen him. Too long."

Kiel nodded in understanding, not knowing what to say. He knew exactly how she felt. It had been forever since he'd talked to his best friends, his _real_ best friends. He talked to Bethany often, but it wasn't the real her. She was a different person without her real memories. Then there was Owen, who he felt lost without. He wondered where he had gone, and why he had left. This mystery was confusing for Kiel to wrap his head around.

A few minutes later, they pulled up into the driveway of Owen's house. In too much pain to speak anymore, Kiel wordlessly opened the car door and stepped out into the cold night air. Grabbing his bag from inside, he stepped back from the car and slammed the door shut.

Ms. Conners stepped out after him, shutting the door on the driver's side. She looked over at Kiel. "You sure you're alright to walk home? I could drop you off, if you want."

Kiel waved off the offer. "No. Thanks."

"Are you really fine with walking home on your own?" Ms. Conners asked dubiously.

He nodded.

"Alright. Well, just make sure that you don't get into any more fights. And remember what the doctors said: you need lots of rest, and plenty of water, too. You probably shouldn't go to school until you're sure that you're better."

"No?"

Owen's mother laughed. "I wouldn't, if I were you. Be safe, alright, Kiel? If you need anything, I'll be working at the library all week."

Kiel winked. "Got . . . it."

She took a few steps forward, then slipped something into the palm of his hand. He looked down at it, and was surprised to see twenty dollars in his hand. His head darted back upwards, feeling hopeful as he searched her face for answers. How did she know he needed it?

Before he could thank her, she began peppering him with a few questions. After a minute of this, she reluctantly allowed him to walk home on his own. Ms. Conners wished him good-night, then went up to the porch, opening the door and walking inside.

Kiel let out a tired sigh, fog drifting from his mouth. Rubbing his freezing hands over his body, he walked behind the car until he was completely hidden from anyone's view. Satisfied that no one was watching, Kiel took out his teleportation button and pressed it, watching as the dark outside world vanished, replaced by the inside of a house.

It was dark, although not as dark as it was outside. He was beyond exhausted, both from the fight and from the long turn of events in the hospital. Falling silent, Kiel could hear the loud snores coming from the other room — unmistakably Elijah's. He heaved a sigh of relief; he didn't want to be confronted about what happened with Oliver. Not right now.

Removing his belongings and dropping them carelessly to the floor, Kiel trudged into his room, too tired to even think or worry about anything. At this point, his mind refused to work. Before he knew it, he was already laying in bed, his body aching painfully with every breath he took. He barely remembered his sleep-deprived ascent to his room, nor did he remember much of the day's events. Within the first few minutes of him laying in bed, he fell into a fitful sleep. And for once, he didn't dream about anything.

* * *

The next morning was the start of the weekend, and the snow that had been pouring down from the heavens had finally subsided. It was slightly warmer today, maybe because it'd finally stopped snowing. The clouds parted, revealing a sapphire sky and a bright, far-away sun that penetrated itself into Bethany's eyes.

She hopped out of her mother's car, waving goodbye as her mother drove back home. She walked up to the front doors of the school, placing a gloved hand on the frozen knob and turning it. This was the first day that the book club would be opening again, and she was glad that at least something would be returning to normal.

Bethany walked through the empty school hallway, going in the direction of the library. She only came here for the book club meetings; she preferred to go to her usual library which was only ten minutes away from her house.

As she pushed open the double doors, the chatter of high-pitched voices filled her ears. All of the girls — five in total — were there, sitting around a circle of beanbag chairs and each holding a book. To her disappointment, Liz was not there; she was probably still stuck in bed with the flu.

"Bethany! Nice of you to join us." To her surprise, Mrs. Ugliano, the elderly woman who hosted the book club, was sitting among the girls. The rest of the girls fell silent and turned at her arrival.

A smile surfaced on Bethany's face, mostly hiding the shock that she felt. "You're back?"

The old woman nodded. "As you might imagine, I was a bit reluctant to come back after the . . ." Mrs. Ugliano averted her eyes and picked up a book. "Have you girls read anything new?"

The others shook their heads.

"No. The last time we were assigned a book to read was basically three weeks ago," Julia, a popular girl who only wanted extra credit for joining an extra curricular after-school activity, said.

"Oh, okay. Have any of you read the book I assigned you three weeks ago?"

Two of the girls nodded, Bethany included. The rest of the group shook their heads.

"I didn't think you'd be coming back after the —" a girl started to say, but her friend, Abby, nudged her in the side. "Mary, shut up!"

"Alright, then. I'm going to assign you a new book," the old woman said, shakily getting to her feet and slowly walking over to a long, wooden table. She grabbed a pile of books, the proceeded to hand one to each of the girls. "It's a classic novel. I read it a long time ago, when I was a young girl. Maybe not that much older than you are now."

"If she's making us read some old 1800s book, I'll probably fall asleep from boredom while reading it," Julia told Abby with a laugh. Bethany had to restrain herself from yelling at the girl. At least Mrs. Ugliano's taste in books was refreshing! She loved the chance to read new, invigorating books.

Bethany watched as Mrs. Ugliano passed around each book, then received one of her own. It was _Anne of Green Gables_ , which shouldn't have surprised her, but somehow it did. The book was thin, paperback, and had some scrapes; obviously it was a reused copy from someone else. She looked down at the cover, observing the smiling red-headed girl who stood in front of a small house and a green landscape.

Unlike most of the other classics, this was one that Bethany had never read before. She knew her mother was into these kinds of books when she was younger, like _Little House On The Prairie_ and _Gone With The Wind_. She had watched the movies, of course, but she tended to stay away from books that her mother found entertaining. However, she did have an undying love for _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_ and _Island of The Blue Dolphins_ , as well as _Alice's Adventures In Wonderland_ and _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_. She had grown up with those books, and they'd always hold a special place in her heart, no matter how old she got.

They spent the rest of the book club discussing what they knew about _Anne of Green Gables_ , and what they thought the book was about. Strangely enough, most of the girls knew bits and pieces based on what they'd heard. Bethany already knew some things about it, like how Anne was an orphan and that she ended up marrying a boy named Gilbert. She also knew that the story took place on Prince Edward Island, which was located near Canada.

Over the span of an hour, time seemed to fly by. The girls hadn't even finished discussing the book before the book club meeting ended, and it was time for them to leave. Bethany rose to her feet, her new book in the crook of her arm. She glanced back at Mrs. Ugliano, who was slowly packing her purse. She opened her mouth, meaning to say something about the attack, but she realized that she didn't know how to say anything comforting. That was probably the reason she didn't have many friends: she wasn't the best at comforting.

Instead, what came out of Bethany's mouth was entirely different. "I've been wanting to show you this new book I got." Okay, so maybe she had wanted to say that. She hadn't told a single person about seeing her own name in a book; it was too weird to say to anyone. She was planning to say it to Liz, but lately her friend seemed pretty distracted. But Mrs. Ugliano shared her love of books, and she was elderly, so Bethany didn't think she'd be laughed at.

"Oh?" The old woman turned, a relaxed smile on her face. Bethany took _Pick The Plot_ out of her backpack and showed it to her. She studied the cover, then turned it around and read the description on the book. "Hmm. From the looks of it, it's like one of those dystopian novels that you kids like reading. And it's very long, too. And heavy!"

"It is," Bethany agreed, trying not to get too off-track. "But, the strange part is that my name keeps popping up! See?" She opened to the first chapter, flipping through until she found her name. Then she flipped forward a few more pages, and there it was again. "But there aren't any characters in this book who are named Bethany. And every time I read it, I get this strange feeling." She let out a nervous chuckle. "Almost like _I'm_ a character."

"Ah." Mrs. Ugliano patted her hand, peering at the open pages of the book. "You've been blessed."

"I have?" she responded, crinkling her eyebrows. "But my name is in a book. And when I see it in there, I get the weirdest feeling."

"Bethany." The old woman sighed, offering her a smile. "You're lucky, that's all. Many girls don't get to see their names in books. Even I haven't seen my name in a book. My first name is Carol, so you can imagine the difficulty with that."

Bethany smiled, feeling a bit more relieved. "Oh. Okay. That's good to hear." She moved to the door, pocketing her two books into her backpack. "Have a nice weekend. I'll see you on Monday for the next meeting."

Mrs. Ugliano waved her off. "Tell your mother I said hello."

"I will!"

When Bethany got home, she removed her phone from it's spot in her coat and dialed a number. After a few rings, Liz answered. "Bethany! How is —" Before she could finish her sentence, she was overcome with a coughing fit.

Bethany winced, feeling sympathetic. "You aren't getting any better?"

"Nope," came the reply, Liz's voice ragged.

"Can I stop over tonight?" Bethany asked, transferring her weight from one foot to the other. "A lot of . . . weird stuff happened yesterday."

"What —" Liz coughed again. "What do you mean? Are you okay?"

She shook her head, not realizing at first that Liz couldn't see her facial expression over the phone. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'll tell you about it when I see you."

"Okay. But don't come over. You can tell me when I get back to school."

"Good point. I'd rather not get sick."

"I'll probably see you —" Liz began, coughing again. "On Monday, or Tuesday. Maybe Wednesday. Whenever this stupid flu sickness goes away. It's terrible. I've been sick since Thursday night!"

"Ha." Bethany smiled. "That's more of a reason to come to school. You're already missing so much homework . . ."

"Yeah, but I don't care about homework as much as you do. You're a bookoholic. Schooloholic. Whatever you want to call it.

"Kind of insulting when you put it that way, but true."

As soon as she hung up, Bethany put on a long-sleeved shirt and stretch pants, also sliding on a pair of sneakers. After a minute of stretching, she left her house and ran to the library.

Ever since she was forced into joining the track team last year, she had tried to make more of a habit of running when she could. For all of middle school she was never the athletic type, and even now she wasn't the type of person who exercised every single day. But at the start of high school, her mom had urged her to participate in some sort of extracurricular activity besides reading, so that's what she did. Ever since joining the track team, Bethany had learned that exercising was actually important, and going for a run was a good way to block out all thoughts.

She wasn't doing track this year, at least not in the winter. Bethany wanted to stay as safe as possible; it was too slippery at this time of year, and she didn't want to accidentally break an ankle. But today was an exception, because the snow and ice on the sidewalk had melted, which made it an easy runway. The walk itself was only ten minutes, so running meant she'd get there much faster.

Panting, Bethany ran to her usual destination, the cold wind whipping across her face and sending a chill through her body. By the time she came to a stop outside of the library, her body felt slightly numb, although she was considerably warmer than she was a couple of minutes ago. She cupped her hands over her ears, trying to rub the cold out of them. When she finally stopped gasping for air, Bethany walked through the sliding glass doors. Immediately, she was met with the warm air conditioning, and she shivered.

The library was quieter than usual. Bethany looked around her favorite hideout, letting the beautiful smell of books seep into her nose. She felt a little more peaceful just by being here.

Instead of going straight to the children's section, however, Bethany made her way to the computers that lined the wall. She wasn't exactly sure what had drawn her to them; she didn't have any papers to write. Out of curiosity, she powered on the computer and clicked onto the "history" tab, scrolling down the list of recently viewed websites. She was surprised to see that there were almost fifty tabs that were related to Germany. She clicked onto one of them, which was on YouTube. A video started to play about how to speak and sound German.

Interesting.

Bethany closed the tab and opened another recently viewed one, which stated facts about Germany. What in the world? She closed that tab and looked through the others, which all had something to do with speaking, or sounding, or learning German. Then, something registered in her brain, and she sat back in the chair, her eyes widening.

 _No way . . ._ she thought, feeling disbelief, followed by disappointment, then a surprising burst of anger. Suddenly, this all clicked with what Oliver Bines had told her. Because of what he'd told her yesterday, the only person she could suspect for this was Kiel. Who else would be watching these videos and reading these websites? Oliver had said that Kiel wasn't from Germany, and that he was faking his identity. He was only pretending to be a German student. As Bethany stared at the screen, with growing realization, it dawned on her that Oliver was completely right, and everything he had told her was true.

Kiel was faking it this whole time. The rumors were true.

* * *

By late morning — nearly the afternoon — Kiel finally awoke to a pillow being smacked soundly against his head. He gasped, and his eyes flew open as he listened to the familiar sound of his friend's voice calling his name. He groggily rolled over, closing his eyes again and taking a slow breath, wincing as a soreness creeped up his ribs and stomach.

"You sleep like the dead!" Elijah exclaimed, grabbing the pillow and tossing it back against Kiel's head. "I've been calling you for hours. How late did you get home last night?"

"Don't . . . know," Kiel said, then flinched at the use of his own voice. The events of yesterday came flooding back to him: being threatened and nearly choked to death, and the frantic ride to the hospital. He shot up, trying his best to ignore the ever-present pain. He lifted a hand to his neck, making an attempt to massage it, then quickly pulled it away with a gasp.

Elijah frowned, his face paling. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"It was . . . Oliver," Kiel rasped, showing Elijah his neck.

His friend gasped. "That boy attacked you again? How did it happen?"

"Tried . . . talking . . . to . . . Bethany. When I . . . went . . . outside . . . he was . . . there."

Elijah's expression hardened, and he started walking to the door. Kiel slowly propped himself against the bed frame, watching with anticipation. "Where . . . are you . . . going?"

"To find where this boy lives and get rid of him. He's gone too far!"

"I . . . agree," Kiel said with an nod, then winced a little at the movement. "But . . . he'll just . . . defeat . . . you . . . again, Elijah. Until I . . . can use . . . my . . . forget . . . spell on . . . him . . . and wipe . . . his . . . memory, there's . . . not . . . much else . . . we . . . _can_ do."

Then he remembered something, and his face brightened as he retrieved the gift from Ms. Conners. He flashed the money at Elijah. "See . . . this? It's . . . money."

"You found some!" Elijah said, a smile forming on his face as he leaned closer to get a better look. "What, so is it gonna take away our Oliver problem?"

"Not . . . exactly," Kiel said with a wink, slowly sliding his tired legs over the bed and starting to get to his feet. "But . . . it'll . . . solve . . . our food . . . problem."

* * *

It was the first time Kiel had ever eaten at a restaurant—a diner, as this was called—and he was feeling more and more confused by the minute. He sat across from Elijah at a small table, who seemed just as confused as the waitress asked for their orders.

"Orders?" Kiel repeated, exchanging a look with Elijah. "What . . . do you . . . mean?"

The waitress looked slightly caught off guard. "Oh, wow. Did you lose your voice?"

He shrugged, trying not to let the reminder Of his new weakness upset him. "Something . . . like . . . that. What . . . orders?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Your food. What do you want to eat?"

"Oh." He winked. "Thanks for the confirmation."

She sighed. "What do you want to eat?"

Elijah glanced down at his menu. "Hmm. I'm not familiar with this . . . cheese . . . bur . . . ger?"

The waitress nodded, then scribbled something on her notepad. "Okay. A cheese burger. Anything you want on it?"

"Like what?"

"Cheeseburgers . . . usually have . . . lettuce, that . . . red fruit, and . . . um . . ." Kiel thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Onions! That's . . . what . . . they're called."

Elijah nodded, smiling. "Okay. I'll have onions."

The waitress raised her eyebrows. "Have you never had a cheeseburger before?"

Kiel laughed automatically, then coughed as pain coursed through his body. "You'd . . . be . . . surprised . . . what we . . . _have_ . . . eaten."

She didn't look amused. She positioned her body towards him, her hand hovering over the notepad. "And what would you like?"

"A . . ." Kiel looked down at his menu. "Oh, I'll . . . have — wait . . . no. I . . . don't . . . want . . . that. I'll have . . . a . . . no. Hmm . . . that looks . . . good. Okay, let's . . . see." He scanned the page, reading each detailed paragraph under the food labels. A few minutes later when he was done, he looked back at the waitress. "I'll . . . have . . . a . . . sandwich."

The waitress's hands clenched around the side of her notepad. She smiled, but it looked a little forced. "What kind of sandwich?"

He looked down again, scrunching his eyebrows as he read the unfamiliar word. "Sell . . . am . . . ee. Salami. And . . . cheese."

"Salami and cheese sandwich." The waitress nodded, jotting down the words. "What do you want for a side? We have soup, salad, fries, or chips."

"Chips," Kiel replied, confident that he finally recognized something.

She nodded, tucking her notepad in her pocket. "Okay. Your order will be ready in about thirty minutes." She turned around and walked briskly away.

"By the way — you look like an angel today!" Elijah called after her, making an attempt to lighten the waitress's mood. The waitress glanced over her shoulder, a strained smile on her face.

"'An angel'," Kiel mocked, snickering once the waitress was out of earshot.

Elijah hit him on the arm. "Hey, laugh all you want, but I don't see you actually acknowledging your feelings for certain girls."

"That's . . . where . . . you're . . . wrong!" he replied, raising his eyebrows. "I have . . . no feelings . . . for girls. Girls . . . have . . . feelings . . . for . . . _me_ , because . . . I'm . . . amazing."

"More and more lies just keep coming out of your mouth, don't they?"

Kiel seized the moment to take a sip of water, not wanting to be apart of this conversation for a second time. Elijah chuckled, shaking his head as he took a sip of his own drink.

* * *

Bethany noticed that Kiel was being uncharacteristically quiet as he slowly made his way over to his desk. It was Monday morning, and although it wasn't snowing, the sky was coated with gray clouds. She hadn't heard him say a single word so far, but she was inwardly glad for the quiet. She didn't want to talk to him, anyway. Not until she knew the full truth.

She glanced over at him, then quickly looked down without saying anything. Kiel didn't meet her eyes; for once, he payed attention to the teacher. This was so unlike him that she was starting to actually worry. She reminded herself that she shouldn't be concerned about him, especially if he was a complete liar. He was probably just tired.

Bethany knew from the beginning that he was faking everything. Well, no, she _didn't_ know. But she should've known. First, Oliver had told her things about Kiel, which she was rightfully suspicious of. Because who would actually believe that? But once she thought for a long time over it, everything started to make sense.

She didn't know if Kiel was a criminal or not, but the fact that he was hiding his identity would make sense if he was a criminal. She didn't know why he was faking his entire identity — his life — just to act like someone else. It made her feel betrayed, because it meant that the new friend she had made — the nice German boy named Kiel — was a fake person. Had he even wanted to be her friend? And was his real name even Kiel? Probably not.

She had found the evidence, and it was crystal clear to her now that he was faking his whole identity. Didn't he see something wrong with that? Hadn't anyone taught him the importance of honesty? It was disturbing for someone else to lie about their whole life, but it was another thing entirely for Bethany's own friend to lie about that.

Since he was apparently faking his identity, who was he? Where was he from? Was he a spy sent from another country? Was he actually a criminal? Or was he a normal kid who just liked to lie? Now that she knew he was definitely faking it, she couldn't help but question him. Why would anyone lie about their life?

"Bethany, what is the answer to number 12?"

Bethany blinked. She quickly returned to the present moment: math class. Some of her classmates looked over at her, awaiting her response with their pencils hovered over their notebooks. "Oh, uh . . ." She glanced down at her sheet of homework from last night. "The answer is 45."

The teacher nodded. "Yes. That's correct."

Sighing in relief, Bethany tuned the teacher out and returned to her thoughts. She knew she should be focusing on the lesson, but her mind refused to cooperate. She wondered why — with slight annoyance — she was still wasting her time on some boy. Why did she care so much? She should just focus on schoolwork.

 _Because you were friends, and you found out two days ago that he's a liar_ , a voice in the back of Bethany's head said. Well, maybe. She didn't know for sure, but she had some pretty clear evidence to back her theory up.

Right. _Were_ friends, "were" being the key word. Kiel wasn't even talking to her, anyway. He seemed set on ignoring her, so she really should stop thinking about him. She forced herself to focus on the teacher, listening to the words but they weren't completely registering in her brain.

* * *

A week later, Bethany was walking to lunch by herself, surrounded by hundreds of other students who were on their way to the same destination. There were only two days before winter break, which came as an excitement to her. She wasn't the biggest advocate of holidays, and she tended to prefer the less popular ones, like Halloween. Even still, she liked the fact that she could have a week off from school. She needed the break, especially for the distraction.

When she sat down at her usual table, she tried her best to hide the irritation that grew within her. Kiel was sitting at her table, just like he always was. Except lately for the past week, he wasn't positioned anywhere near her, instead sitting a few rows down. When Liz had come back to school yesterday, she asked Bethany about it. But Bethany didn't know, and neither did she really care.

A few minutes after she began eating, Liz sat down next to Bethany, looking generally healthy now that she wasn't sick anymore. She frowned, then gestured at Kiel. "He's sitting far away again."

Bethany nodded. "Yeah. So?"

" _So_?" Liz repeated, raising her eyebrows with a small smile forming on her face. "You didn't make him upset or anything, did you?"

Bethany almost laughed. "What? Of course not!"

Her friend nodded. "Okay. Good. But why is he sitting over there? He used to always sit across from us."

"I don't know. Maybe he wants to make new friends." Bethany threw a pointed look in his direction, but he wasn't even looking her way. He seemed to be very engrossed in his food, and he was eating at a slow pace. Why was he ignoring her all of the sudden? This didn't make any sense. First, he possibly lied about his life. Now he was being quiet and ignoring her?

At English class the next morning, Bethany decided she would talk to him. Today she would talk to him. She was done overthinking things. It wasn't going to solve anything. She would know soon enough if he was really a dangerous criminal, or if he was German or not.

 _Kiel,_

 _Let's talk._

 _\- Bethany_

As quietly as she could, Bethany threw a folded piece of notebook paper at him. It hit the side of his desk and fell to the floor. She watched his eyes widen, and he looked down at the folded paper, making no effort to pick it up. His gaze drifted to her, then his expression changed as he glanced somewhere to the right.

Bethany immediately followed his gaze to the side of the room, which was where four students, including Oliver Bines, sat in a row. Either he was looking at one of the students, or he was looking at the wall behind them. Bethany turned back to him. He was looking at his notes again. She ripped another small sheet of notebook paper and scribbled on it. When she was finished, she threw the paper at him. This time, it landed lightly on his desk.

Without looking at her, Kiel grabbed the paper and unfolded it. She watched him read it, then write something down underneath her message. He glanced at her, then tossed it onto her desk. Checking to make sure the teacher wasn't watching, Bethany opened the note.

 _Bethany,_

 _I can talk at lunch. But not in the cafeteria. Somewhere else._

 _Love, Kiel_

 _Love?_ she thought, shaking her head. He had some nerve to think they were friends! Only if he wasn't a liar would they still be friends. Which he was, by the way. Bethany scribbled something back, then gave it to him.

 _Kiel,_

 _What, are you being secretive now? Where would you rather meet? The cafeteria works for me. I guess that we could meet in the hallway._

 _\- Bethany_

Without looking, she tossed it back to him. It landed with a light smack on his desk. He read it for a few seconds, then wrote his reply and flung it onto her desk.

 _Bethany,_

 _Of course not. The hallway works perfectly for me._

 _Love, Kiel_

Before Bethany could began writing back, a book was slammed onto her desk. She jumped, then found herself looking up into the eyes of Mr. Tompkins. "Bethany Sanderson and Kiel Bauer! Are you almost done writing love notes to each other?"

The class began to laugh, and Bethany's face reddened. "What? We weren't —"

"Yes," Kiel responded confidently, his chin pointed upwards. "So what if we were writing notes to each other? What are you going to do about it?" It was the first thing Bethany had heard him say all week. During both class and during the lunch period, he had been quiet as a mouse, and now that she heard his voice, it sounded different — very hoarse and strained.

"I'm going to give you both detention, that's what I'll do," their English teacher replied. When Bethany started to protest, Mr. Tompkins cut her off. "Detention is the only way you're going to learn. I could let this slide, yes, but neither of you have been paying attention during this whole class. And also, I'm giving you detention for your attitude, Kiel. You need to learn that you can't talk back to your teachers."

"What's detention?" Kiel asked her as Mr. Tompkins walked back to his desk.

Bethany just shook her head, curling her hands into balls. She tried to ignore the whispers of her classmates, the pitying look from Liz, and the familiar sensation of her face burning. "Thanks a lot."

"It's okay, Bethany. I'm sure detention isn't horrible," Kiel assured her gently.

She whipped her head towards him. "I've never gotten detention before. My mom will be so mad. And it's your fault."

" _My_ fault?" He cocked an eyebrow. "You were the one who started the note-writing, not me."

Now he was making her regret having ever made the decision to meet up with him at lunch. Bethany grumbled something unintelligible, feeling so humiliated by her actions. Why did Kiel need to embarrass her in front of the whole class again? Sure, she might've started it, but he was the one who talked back at Mr. Tompkins. Another long talk with her mother was the last thing she wanted. The very idea of it stressed her out.

By the time lunch rolled around, Bethany was sitting in her usual seat, opening her bagged lunch as she waited for Liz to arrive. She looked around as students gradually moved through the food line, talked to their friends, and sat down at their tables. Her own table was slowly filling up, but she didn't see who she was expecting to see.

She ate quietly, glancing around her every now and then. Liz was still in the lunch line, which seemed to be ten times longer than normal. One by one, the other kids who shared her long table sat down.

After ten minutes, Bethany sighed, crumbling up her lunch bag. Of course he wasn't coming to lunch. Now, she'd probably have to talk to him during detention. She couldn't wait that long —

Kiel came into view, pushing past a group of boys who were standing around. He looked over at the other students who sat at their table, then took the seat diagonally across from Bethany. She raised her eyebrows at his late appearance.

"Long line," he explained, opening the lid of his bottled water and taking a sip of it. "Do you still want to talk?"

Bethany hesitated, then nodded. She watched as Kiel turned his attention to his meal, which consisted of a sandwich with a side of French fries. He took a bite of his sandwich, then began poking at his French fries in suspicion, his eyes level with the table as he scrutinized his meal.

After a few minutes of watching him do this, Bethany sighed loudly. He was taking this German act way too far. All Europeans knew what fries were! It was common knowledge, wasn't it?

Sure, she didn't like him too much anymore. But until she confronted him about the rumors and suspicions, she wouldn't know whether he was a liar or not. He seemed like a very good actor, Bethany observed. Maybe too good. But that didn't mean she could let him make a fool out of himself. "They're not gonna kill you. They're just French fries."

"They're French?"

Seriously? He was playing the dumb card? She leaned across the table and popped one in her mouth. "No. That's just what they're called."

"Cool name." Kiel sat up and plucked one from the pile. He chewed on it for a few seconds, looking thoughtful. A grin formed on his face. " _Wow_." Then his smile dropped a little. "They're a little salty, but still good."

She watched him for a little, trying to come up with things to say that might make him confess about his true identity. He had to feel at least a little guilty for lying, right? If he wouldn't confess to her, she needed to try finding the truth out herself. "So, what town did you say you grew up in?"

Kiel momentarily stopped eating. "Germany. You know that."

Bethany nodded. "What part of Germany?"

"The . . . north."

Huh. He wasn't saying any names. Which gave her some more evidence that he clearly was pretending to be German. "Won't you tell me what town?"

He cracked a sideways smile. "It might cost you something in return."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. More fries?"

Despite herself, she laughed. She quickly tried to cover it up with a cough. At that moment, she spotted Oliver striding over to their table.

Kiel was wide-eyed as he said, "I need to go."

He stood up, gathering his tray and keeping a wide berth between him and Oliver. He became lost in the crowd of kids. Oliver was smiling as sat down where Kiel had been sitting. "That was weird. I wonder what that was all about."

Bethany shifted in her seat. "I don't know. What's up? Do you need help with English, or something?"

"No." Oliver shook his head, straightening his glasses. He looked at the other kids who sat at the table, all engrossed in their food or talking with each other. He turned back to Bethany, leaning slightly forward. "Did you confront him yet?"

"About what?"

"You know what," he said, quiet enough for her to hear. He took a bite out of his apple.

"I've been meaning to," Bethany said, lowering her voice to prevent anyone else from hearing.

She swallowed, then rose from her chair, scraping it loudly against the floor. "I'll be right back. If Liz shows up, will you tell her I'm going to the bathroom?"

Oliver nodded, seemingly buying Bethany's lie. She walked briskly across the cafeteria and pushed open the door, out into the empty hallway.

* * *

Kiel watched as Bethany purposefully walked out of the cafeteria, her lunch bag disposed of. Without thinking, he sprung from his chair and followed after her, practically running. He pushed the cafeteria door open and glanced left, then right. He saw her walking several feet away from him, though he wasn't sure where she was going.

"Beth," Kiel said loudly, walking after her. He quickly caught up with her. "Can we talk?"

Bethany turned around, her expression unreadable. Then she nodded. She grabbed him by the wrist and opened the door of a nearby supply closet, pulling him in.

"Why are we hiding in here?" he asked in an amused tone, though he wasn't against it. At least Oliver couldn't spy on their conversation again.

Bethany didn't answer. It was dark inside, so she flicked on a switch. A single light bulb hung by a string above them, giving Kiel barely enough light to see by. But he could see her face, and she didn't look happy.

"What's wrong?" Kiel asked quietly. "You haven't talked to me this whole week. Really except for today."

"What?" she said. " _You're_ one to talk. You haven't been talking to me, either."

He looked down, scratching the back of his neck. After his fight with Oliver, he'd tried to stay away from Bethany to avoid further injury. He also had taken the many days to rest his voice, his vocal cords having taken a toll ever since getting choked. His voice was still very hoarse and painful, he could tell. But now, at least he could speak full sentences without having to take many breaks.

"That's because —"

"You're not from Germany, are you," Bethany said. It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Kiel felt the sudden urge to punch Oliver, and if he hadn't just been nearly choked to death just last week, he probably would have. It was clear now that Oliver had already succeeded. Bethany believed him.

"That," he said, taking a small step back. "Is a great question." Even if it wasn't a question, he wanted to somehow skirt around the topic.

"What's your answer?"

"Why do you care where I'm from?" Kiel asked. "It doesn't have anything to do with—"

Bethany cut him off. "Can you please just answer the question?"

"Fine. I'm not from Germany," he confirmed, wondering how much he could tell her without driving her away. "Actually, I'm from another world."

A frown formed on her lips. "What do you mean? Are you actually from America? Or a different country? I know you're not from around here, but you're definitely not from Germany. So where do you live, if you need to pretend you're from somewhere else? Why do you have to lie about where you're from?"

"I'm sorry. I can't tell you where I live," Kiel said, inwardly cringing as he said this. He wanted to tell her the truth, but he knew she didn't remember anything, anyway. He wouldn't tell her everything. Not yet. It wasn't the right time with Oliver still lurking around.

"How come?" she pressed. "Is it because you want people to like you, or something? Or because you are a complete liar and you don't want anyone to know where you really live?"

Kiel's eyes widened. "Bethany, I swear I'm not lying for a bad reason. You just don't understand."

Bethany's expression didn't change. "I don't get what your problem is or why you need to lie about your life, but trust me — once the teachers know you aren't from Germany, you'll be kicked out of here. You're breaking so many rules by doing this."

"What?" This was going much worse than Kiel had even thought it would. He had to convince her somehow. "You can't do that. I'm not even doing anything wrong. Really, I think you're just jealous of me!"

She scoffed. "What? Jealous?"

"Yeah! Because I'm awesome. Sorry if I made you angry, or whatever, but you have to trust me. I didn't lie about anything except for where I'm from. I lied about me being from Germany, because I really want to live there. Is that what you want to hear? I faked the accent. I watched some videos on the Int-ee-net so I could seem convincing." Mentally, Kiel high-fived himself. This sounded convincing enough to win Bethany over as his friend.

"Whatever. But just so you know, your accent sounds fake. Maybe you should watch a few more videos."

Bethany turned around and started walking out of the supply closet, shaking her head.

"You've never even been to Germany!" The words flew from Kiel's mouth, and he quickly shut it. She had told him once, when she was twelve, that she'd never even been out of the country before.

Bethany slowly turned around. "Okay, this time you really are a stalker. How do you know I've never been to Germany? I've never told anyone that I haven't been out of the United States."

He froze. "I asked . . . Liz."

"Why?"

"I just wanted to know who in our class has been to Germany. She said she didn't think you had before."

Rolling her eyes, she turned back around and continued walking back into the empty hallway. As he watched her go, he cringed a little. He wasn't the best at lying, but it was true, he had done it for the right reason. He had only pretended to be German because otherwise everyone would've found out that he was actually Kiel Gnomenfoot.

Kiel couldn't take it anymore. He knew he had to convince her somehow, but he was really getting annoyed with her right now. Why did she have to be so suspicious of everything?

He followed her out of the supply closet. "Either way, how would you know that I'm not from Germany, huh? If it makes you feel better, you should prove it to the school that I'm not from there. I'm _sure_ they'll find plenty of evidence."

She flashed him a look. "I already know you're not. I saw your videos on the computer."

"You . . . what?" Kiel forced a laugh. "Oh, those. You're right. Those _were_ my videos. They're very educational, I have to say."

Bethany's eyebrows shot up. "And what about the part about you being a criminal?"

"A criminal?" He scratched his head. "Oh. You're talking about the boy who attacked the lady who is in charge of your book club."

"Yes. Was that you?"

He threw her an annoyed look. "No, it wasn't. I'm not a criminal. Do you see any weapons on me? I don't know where you got that idea."

Slowly, she nodded, as if accepting this. "Okay. So you're not a criminal. That's . . . that's good to know."

He shrugged nonchalantly, then smiled. "So can we put all of this behind us and be friends, now?"

Bethany crosses her arms, looking at him with disbelief. "Kiel, you lied about your whole life. How could I even want to be friends with you?"

"I didn't lie, not about everything. Sure, I'm not from Germany. But what's so bad about that? If you can't handle the fact that I'm trying to be your friend —"

She let out a short, annoyed laugh. "No, I don't think so. I don't want to be your friend. I don't care how many girls want to date you. You're a complete liar. Stop following me around."

"Date? Who said anything about that?" Kiel questioned, but she shoved past him and walked back towards the cafeteria. He was left wondering what she meant by girls wanting to date him. The only thing he'd done was try to earn Bethany's trust, and he had lost it within the first three weeks of him being here.

* * *

 _"The seed of all this indecision isn't me, oh no. 'Cause I decided long ago. But that's the way it seems to go, when trying so hard to get to something real . . ."_


	11. Won't Back Down

**A/N - There's a possible trigger warning if anyone doesn't like reading about anxiety or has anxiety. Also, please leave feedback if you like the story!**

 ** _Void (by The Neighbourhood)_**

 _"I'll fight just to do somethin'. I'll fight 'cause I got nothin'. Even if I lose again, I can't quit, mmm . . ."_

* * *

"A _comic book sale_?" Bethany repeated, removing her backpack and throwing it in front of the passenger seat she was sitting on. " _That's_ why we're not going straight home? Since when do you read comic books?"

Bethany's mother gave her a reprimanding look. "Don't give me that attitude. I've been reading them since . . . since I was younger. Our local library is having a sale with some really great deals. They're even selling regular books!"

Explaining to her mother why she had gotten sent to detention in the first place was as torturous as actually being there. She'd never been until this afternoon, but she always heard stories about the teacher falling asleep. This wasn't the case, because the teacher was wide awake; he forced the students to do absolutely nothing — not even homework. So for an hour, maybe longer, Bethany sat in the classroom with five other high schoolers, trying to daydream. She couldn't remember the last time she'd daydreamed, and it was difficult to lose herself in thoughts of fantasy.

It was even worse because Kiel was there, and his presence made everything awkward. After confronting him about his lie, Bethany felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She had been nervous throughout the whole ordeal, but at least it was _done_ , and she could officially have a reason for not wanting to be his friend anymore. She was still mad at him, of course. Okay, maybe not _mad_. But she felt something along those lines.

Bethany was glad when he didn't talk to her much and instead doodled some drawings of wizards and spaceships on a piece of scrap paper. Bethany had tried with all her willpower to avoid looking at him or his drawings, but it was hard considering she had nothing else to do.

Much to Bethany's relief, her mother didn't go as hard on her as she had anticipated. Upon entering the car, she sat through a five minute lecture, but her mother seemed surprisingly less mad than she normally would've been. All things considered, there was the fact that tomorrow was the start of winter break. Tomorrow was also Christmas Eve, which was also why her mother felt the dire need to attend a comic book sale at their local library.

"What comics are we getting, anyway?" Bethany questioned, glancing out the window at the houses that dashed past.

Her mother flipped on the left turn signal and put her foot on the brake, indicating they were about to make a turn. They both stared at the other lane of traffic, waiting for the long line to go past. After several seconds of waiting, her mother hesitantly turned back to her. "I was thinking about getting a . . . _Doc Twilight_ comic." She continued warily looking at Bethany, reading her expression, but Bethany was only confused.

"Didn't those come out in the 80s?" Bethany asked. "Why would you want an old comic?"

"Because they're classics, Beth. They aren't old." A car beeped at them, and Bethany's mother quickly turned into the library's parking lot. The parking lot was more crowded than usual, considering that the book sale was today. It took several minutes before they found a decent parking spot.

"I also thought I'd say hello to Ms. Conners," Bethany's mother said as she opened the door and stepped outside. "Remember her? Owen's mom."

Bethany nodded, shivering at the cold air that seeped into her skin. She didn't know why everyone acted as if her and Owen used to be friends. They weren't! However, it was common knowledge that Owen's mother worked at the library down the street.

Before getting out of the car, Bethany took out _Pick The Plot_ from her backpack and tucked it under her arm. Knowing her mother and the amount of time she spent at shopping malls, this book sale wouldn't be any different.

Together, they walked quickly into the library, shivering the whole way. It was supposed to snow later that day, so there had been a sudden drop in temperature. Now it was freezing, and Bethany couldn't be outside for longer than a few seconds without feeling like an ice cube.

Upon entering the library, Bethany was surprised to see how crowded the book sale was. There were many people wandering around the library, looking down at the many books, magazines, and comic books that were piled on each table. Both kids and adults alike were there.

"You can go look at whatever you want," Bethany's mother told her. "I'm going to look for the _Doc Twilight_ comics." Then she made a beeline for the nearest table, flashing a grin at Bethany.

Bethany only stared in surprise, then shook her head with a laugh and made her way over to the children's section, pushing past the many people who flooded the isles. Since it was unusually crowded, it was hard finding a spot to sit. Finally, after walking through the children's section, she found a row of beanbag chairs. There was only one left, the other four being taken by a small group of young kids.

"Hello!" a little blonde girl, who could have been anywhere from seven to nine years old, shouted as Bethany approached. She was sitting on the beanbag and was holding a stuffed animal in the shape of a dolphin.

"Hi," Bethany replied with a small smile, trying to seem polite. She was an only child, so she didn't know how to act around young kids. She tended to be impatient, so that was also a valid reason.

The little girl stared at her for a few seconds, then blurted, "You have poppy hair!"

"What?"

"She means you have red hair," a boy next to her said, looking almost embarrassed. "Ellie, stop using flowers for adjectives! Flowers stink!"

"Flowers don't stink!" the blonde girl, Ellie, cried. "They smell nice!" She reached across the beanbag, then leaned over to smell Bethany's hair. "See? Poppy hair."

Bethany, who was edging out of the girl's reach, couldn't help but laugh. "I always have described it as red."

"Red is wrong!" Ellie shouted as she leaned towards Bethany again, loud enough for her left ear to ring. "Call it poppy hair from now on, okay?"

Bethany nodded, a smile on her face. "Sure."

Satisfied, the young girl turned back to her friends. They all started re-enacting some type of play with their stuffed animals. Bethany watched for a while, feeling a strange pang of sadness. After her father passed away, she didn't remember playing or having an active imagination as a child. Neither did she have any siblings or many friends to play with.

"There you kids are!" said a woman's voice, making the group look up. She was rushing over to them, her arms laden with hardback books. "I was looking everywhere for you, Ellie. Why did you run off with your friends like that?"

"Sorry!" Ellie squeaked, hugging the stuffed animal close to her chest. "We wanted to play."

"You can play when we get home," the woman replied, then gestured for the rest of the kids to come to her. They obeyed, grabbing their toys and clambering over to her. The woman sighed, glancing over at Bethany. "Kids are a handful. I'm glad that I only have two." She pointed to the blonde girl, Ellie, and the blond boy beside her.

"Are you guys here for the book sale?" Bethany asked, shifting her weight in the beanbag chair.

The woman nodded. "Yes, we are. This is the first time in years I've gotten a _Doc Twilight_ comic! They're super rare. I heard the author stopped selling them, but the fans kept demanding for more. Hey, you should check it out. There are a few copies left on the table."

Bethany forced a smile, not having any intention to read an old comic. "Thanks. I will." She watched as the woman and her two children, along with their two friends walk back over to the book sale area.

She stood up, suddenly curious. She stepped out of the children's section and observed how the book sale was doing. Normally, book sales like these weren't so popular. Maybe it was because they were selling comic books.

Seeing that her mother was still browsing through the book sale, she gave into the curiosity and walked over to the tables. A few tables down, Bethany's mother was holding a paperback book in her hand, busy peering down at the other books.

Many people were wandering around the section, looking down at the books and grabbing one every so often. The tables were piled neatly with books and comics of all different genres. It took Bethany a while before she found the correct comics, because she had only read about three comic book series in her life.

Finally, after searching for a long time, she spotted the title _Doc Twilight_. There were only a few books left, maybe five. She looked down at the cover, which portrayed a superhero in a red and purple costume with a cape and mask that covered his entire face. On his chest was a yellow moon and three stars.

She stepped closer to read the cover. "'Doc Twilight. He's giving crime it's proper medicine.'" She made a face. "Wow."

The fans wanted more _Doc Twilight_ comics? Those were so outdated, especially for being superhero comic books. Why would fans want _that_? All things considered, this comic also had some weird catchphrases. This author was probably, like, eighty years old.

Bethany walked over to her mother, who was gazing down at table filled with nonfiction books. Normally, she would've been more patient, especially considering she was the one who tended to hang out in the library for hours. But she was here so often that she didn't feel the need to participate in the book sale. "Are you almost done?"

"Not yet," Bethany's mother said. "Have you found anything worth buying?"

Bethany shook her head. "I'll pass. There are mostly comics here."

"What's the matter with that? You've read comics before, Beth!"

"Only a few, like _Bone_ , _Tintin_ , and _Zita the Spacegirl_."

"Okay, fine. I'll respect it if you don't want to read any other comics," Bethany's mother said. "I'm looking for some good nonfiction books. I'm starting to lean more towards that. I like it better than fiction."

Bethany made a face. "Fiction is _much_ better than nonfiction, Mom."

Her mother laughed. "Wait until you're my age. Nonfiction is actually very informative, and it talks about real-life issues."

"And fiction doesn't?"

"Definitely not."

After assuming that her mother would take a long time, Bethany found herself walking back to the now-empty children's section. She collapsed into a beanbag chair, then looked down at her hands, which held _Story Thieves: Pick The Plot_. So far, the book was captivating. Despite this, she thought the plot was going a bit slow. She wondered if Owen and Kara were ever going to escape this time prison that they were locked in. Clearly, they was having some difficulties. If this was a children's book, why wasn't there a climax yet? Why hadn't they escaped the time prison yet? She'd have figured that the main characters would've found a way to escape by now.

Using her fingers to open the spine, Bethany pulled the book open to it's marked page.

* * *

On top of being exhausted from the events of last night, Owen was feeling a strange sensation in his stomach. It started right after he left his jail cell, the moment he started walking with Kara to breakfast. Once they got to the cafeteria, he voiced this to her, feeling slightly sicker by the minute.

"You feel sick?" Kara asked, placing an oversized pancake on her plate. "Do you need to throw up?

Despite the concern on her face, Owen couldn't help the way his own heart flipped at the sight of her. It was strange, but the feeling was familiar.

He considered what she said, then shook his head. "I don't think so. My heart is beating fast, and my stomach hurts. But it isn't very painful. It feels weird, almost like a —" Then he realized what it was. Butterflies. In his stomach. Whenever Charm was around, he had that same feeling. They sometimes overwhelmed him so much that he could barely talk around her.

"Almost like what?" Kara asked, unconsciously leaning closer to him as she poured syrup all over her pancakes.

"Nothing," he squeaked, his face starting to burn. He quickly cleared his throat, busying himself by grabbing a piece of toast and a pile of scrambled eggs. He forced himself to lean away a bit more, because they were _way_ too close. He had to stop touching her, or else he might never be able to concentrate today.

"Want to try the pancakes I got?" Kara asked as they made their way to a table. "I noticed you didn't get any, and they taste really good."

Owen quickly shook his head, placing his plate on the wooden table and sliding his legs over the bench. Kara sat down next to him, digging her fork into the first syrup-covered pancake and taking a bite of it. Owen trained his eyes on his meal, hoping this feeling would cease. It didn't.

Even though it was early in the morning, Owen normally would've been talkative. But today, he was exhausted. After the events of last night, who wouldn't be? He just wasn't in the mood to talk. That, and he was contemplating all the ways Tobias might try to "accidentally" murder him and Kara. It was obvious that Tobias had intended to torture them, and it sent a shiver down Owen's spine when he thought about it. He'd have to keep his distance from that guy. Tobias was crazy, especially for a fictional character. And that was _without_ the use of magic spells.

The Magister was another fictional character who had gone crazy, except that was ten times worse than this. While Owen was miserably stuck in _Kiel Gnomenfoot and the Source of Magic_ , (much to his jealousy) Bethany and Kiel were off trying to stop The Magister's plans to take over to real world.

Every time he thought of that happening, he still couldn't wrap his head around it. Just like Kiel Gnomenfoot, The Magister had always been one of Owen's idols. Although he knew The Magister was dangerous, he somehow still couldn't imagine that beloved character ever doing something so evil. But the way Bethany seemed to talk about it, she clearly despised him.

"Um . . . are those pancakes good?" Owen asked after a few minutes of sitting in silence and eating their breakfast. His brain was slow this morning, and he couldn't really think of anything else to say.

Kara nodded absently, then without a word, she slammed her fist straight down onto the table. She immediately withdrew her hand, gasping in pain as she clutched her curled-up hand in her non-injured one.

"Uh, are you okay?" he asked, carefully forming his words and scooting a bit farther from her. He noticed a few of the prisoners were watching from nearby, which wasn't a good sign. The last thing they needed was to attract attention, especially if there was anyone else that held grudges against Kara.

"Not even a little bit," she told him, staring at her hand. "I don't like this at all. I keep thinking — we've tried to find the time watches last night, and then we got caught. I know there has to be something they're hiding, besides the location of the time watches."

"I thought that, too," Owen said. "Like when that scientist-looking man in the lab coat walked in. He looked freaked out! He was talking about dinosaurs, in cages. About them being difficult to control."

Kara nodded knowingly. "The TSA keeps the meat-eaters in cages, I'm guessing to run tests on? I'm not sure. It's classified information. Nobody really knows why the dinosaurs are caged up like that. They aren't a threat unless you go into the jungle. It's not like they can break into the prison from the outside."

"They're a threat to us, though," he said. "The dinosaur hunters. We're outside almost all day."

"Yeah, we are," Kara said, adjusting her grip on her fork. "But why cage the dinosaurs?"

"I have no clue. This place has a lot of secrets," Owen observed, to which she silently nodded. Kara was neither smiling or frowning; it was strange to see her expressionless.

"What about Tobias?" he added, absentmindedly biting his lip. "What if he tries to strap us on tables again, or interrogate us, or hurt us, or —"

"Doesn't matter. We'll be fine as long as he doesn't catch us alone. Just follow my lead out there, and I'll keep you safe, okay?" Kara turned her face towards his, studying his expression, then smiled a little. "After all, I can't afford you getting hurt again. Your face is still healing after that fight."

Owen's face felt a little warm. He nodded. "Good idea," he said. "My face deserves a break." What? His face deserves a _break_? What kind of ridiculous statement was that? That wasn't even cool!

Apparently not reading his thoughts, Kara laughed, which made him feel better. "Yeah."

He shrugged, trying to play it cool but he could still tell his movements were fidgety. A moment later, a woman's all-too-cheerful voice was heard over a loud speaker. "Good morning, time prisoners! Breakfast is ending in five minutes, so get ready for your daily task! Be sure to get there on time, or else your instructors will be very, _very_ unhappy!"

"Unhappy is a total understatement," Owen heard Kara murmur. She stood from the table, grabbing her now-empty plate and making her way over to the trash cans. He followed suite, grabbing his breakfast and tossing it into the trash. He was glad that he'd at least remembered to eat, but he hoped he wouldn't have to face another dinosaur today. Knowing his luck, he probably would, and then he'd probably throw up or do something to embarrass himself.

The other prisoners started standing up too, forming a line to throw out their trash. Many grumbled to each other or threw insults Owen's way as they passed by. Owen avoided their eyes, feeling uncomfortable just by being in their presence. He couldn't wait to get out of this creepy place.

He followed behind Kara as she walked to open cafeteria doors, where dozens of other prisoners were trickling out of. As soon as Owen left the room and entered the crowded hallway, guards began directing the prisoners to certain areas, each holding a taser at their side.

"Prisoners who work in airlock cleaning, follow me!" a guard shouted above the noise, his face emotionless as he talked.

"Prisoners in dinosaur wrangling, follow me!" another shouted.

"Prisoners in the dinosaur hunting squad, form a line and follow me!" a guard, who was positioned next to the wall, yelled.

Owen's head perked up at the mention of his job, and he looked at Kara, who was already moving towards the guard. He quickly scrambled to get out of the way of the throngs of people that were continuously pouring out of the cafeteria, and moved to follow Kara. Once the rest of the prisoners from the dinosaur hunting squad formed a line, the guard led them down the long hallway and turned a corner, pushing past the hundreds of prisoners who were going to their own jobs for the day.

Owen tried his best to follow the group in a straight line, but almost every second he was shoved by some passerby. The line of prisoners in the dinosaur hunting group, including Owen and Kara, turned another corner into an empty hallway, finally breaking out of the large crowds of people that filled up almost all the available walking space.

They continued to trail behind the guard, who walked with stiff movements as he led them to an airlock. It was a different one than Owen had been to yesterday, which made sense. Apparently, each of the dinosaur hunting groups took rotating shifts, which meant that they went to different sides of the jungle each day.

"Pick your weapons," the guard ordered sternly, gesturing to a small assortment of weapons along the wall next to the airlock. The other prisoners, all adults, eagerly pushed past the guard to choose their weapons. The prisoners shouted insults and pushed each other out of the way, attempting to get their hands on their preferred weapons. Out of the options, there weren't many. Owen and Kara hung back to wait for the flurry of activity to cease. When it finally did, Owen walked forward, his eyes landing on the few weapons that remained untouched. There was a small knife, a slingshot, and a rusted pistol.

"I'd trust you more with the slingshot," Owen joked, mimicking Kara's move by shoving his shoulder lightly against her's. A flurry of butterflies erupted in his stomach.

Kara laughed. "I think I'll be fine with this knife." She reached down to pick it up, curling her fingers around the hilt and returning her hand to her side. "What are you going to choose? I honestly think the slingshot might be more your style. No offense, I doubt that you've ever used a gun before."

" _What_?" he squeaked, his voice suddenly higher in pitch. "Um, of _course_ I have. I'm Owen Conners, user of guns. That's me." He cleared his throat, his face reddening as he heard the guffaws of prisoners behind him. He glanced back and forth between the slingshot and pistol, then made his decision and stuck his hand out, grabbing the pistol.

It was heavier than he thought it would be, and he nearly dropped it in surprise. He moved to hold the pistol in both hands, feeling it's weight. It looked old, and it probably had started to rust a long time ago. Even still, it seemed to function properly.

"Get into a line, prisoners!" a deep voice growled behind him, making Owen jump. He whirled around, and his heart nearly stopped beating. It was Tobias, and he did _not_ look happy. In fact, he looked grouchier than usual. He was staring down the group with a scowl, who quickly scrambled into a line, looking equally fearful of the man.

"Good to see you're obeying my orders. I'm not in the mood for disobedience," Tobias said, nodding in approval. He slowly walked along the group of prisoners, sizing up each person. When he got to Owen and Kara, his beady eyes bore into theirs, his scowl deepening.

Owen gulped, sweat pouring over his face. His hands began to shake, and he quickly moved his gaze to the floor, feeling the heavy stare of his dinosaur hunting instructor on him. If he wasn't going to get eaten by a dinosaur already, he most certainly was going to die today. And it wouldn't be an accident. It would be fully intended.

"All of you know the drill," Tobias said, his gaze lifting off Owen and moving to the group. He placed his hands in his pockets, pacing down the line of prisoners. "You won't be using those weapons unless a dino attacks, that clear?"

"Yes, sir!" the group answered automatically.

Tobias nodded again, then glanced at Owen and Kara, who were at the end of the line. If it was possible, his expression hardened, almost as if to warn them not to do anything. Tobias turned back to the air lock and pulled it open. They went through the same procedure as yesterday, filing into the small, dark hallway and closing the air lock door behind them. Just like yesterday, as soon as the door closed behind them, red lights began flashing and a loud siren rang out in short bursts. The noise didn't last long, and the double doors at the other end of the hallway swung open by themselves, immersing them with sunlight.

Tobias slipped his hands out of his pockets, then motioned for the prisoners to follow him. They followed suit, piling out of the hallway and into the outside world. This time, they weren't facing an electric fence. Instead, they faced the front of the Time Security Agency, where the ravine was. Owen remembered his fear-filled escape across the ravine from the T-Rex on his first day here. Surprisingly, the rope bridge that had broken was now back, fully restored to it's old condition.

"We're going across _there_?" a woman cried once they had gotten close enough to see how deep the ravine stretched. "If this bridge breaks, we'll all die! That river has gotta be seventy or eighty feet below us!"

Tobias only shrugged. "If you see another way across, be my guest. If not, I hope you'll enjoy being tasered."

The woman glared at him, looking threatening with all the tattoos all over her body. "I've killed hundreds of people in my lifetime! I've gone back in time to do it, and I'll do the same to you!"

"Choose your next words very carefully," Tobias said in a low voice, stepping close to the woman. "I won't tolerate more disrespect from you prisoners."

"I said what I said! I won't take it back!" the woman replied, then jumped as Tobias plunged a taser into her side. She fell to the ground, writhing in pain. The other prisoners grimaced, each backing away and avoiding the eye contact of their instructor.

"You're just going to leave her there?" Kara asked.

"She'll be fine," Tobias said, turning to glare at Kara. He looked at the rest of the group. "Let this be a fair warning to you all: you disobey me, you pay the consequences. And the consequences won't be pretty. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," the group mumbled.

"I said _is that clear_?" He repeated, his voice growing louder.

"Yes, sir!" they replied quickly, in more audible voices.

"Good. Now let's move!" Tobias started across the rickety bridge with fast movements, not even looking at the water below as he walked. He made it to the other side within a minute, then turned back and yelled for the next person to follow. A middle aged man hesitantly stepped forward, his eyes trained on the floorboards. He hadn't even stepped on the bridge before someone pushed him forward, he yelped, falling a few feet foreword. The bridge groaned and swung under his weight, but held steady. He immediently ran across the bridge, not even looking down until he made it to the other side of the ravine.

One by one, the prisoners went across the bridge, many of them taking their time to avoid the possibility of death. When it was finally Owen's turn, he was so nervous that he could barely breathe. The sick feeling from breakfast had returned, except this time, it wasn't from Kara. It was from fear.

He shakily placed both hands on the rope that was along either side of the bridge. He took a deep breath, trying to steady his rapidly increasing heartbeat. Then, he made the mistake of glancing down at the chasm below. The water was moving at a fast speed, and it roared loudly in his ears, cutting off almost all other sounds. He tried not to think of what would happen if the bridge broke, and he would be consumed by the rushing water that lay seventy feet below. A fall like that would be fatal, which could maybe even result in Owen drowning.

"Owen, are you okay? You're shaking," Kara said from behind him, briefly touching his shoulder.

Owen turned his head around to face her, forcing an awkward smile. "I-I'm fine."

She seemed doubtful, but nodded. In the glaringly bright sunlight, her eyes were a startlingly pretty blue, which was a nice contrast with her pink hair. "Then I guess it's time for you to get started. Just don't look at the ground, and you'll be fine."

He nodded and turned back to the bridge, which seemed to sway the slightest bit in the wind. He took a shaky breath, then took a step onto it. The first floorboard creaked loudly, and the bridge immediately swung a little bit to the right. Owen clung to the sides as he walked, forcing himself to put one foot in front of the other. His breaths came out shallow and quick. He stole a glance down at the river below his feet, and the sight of it took his breath away. Literally.

The world swayed beneath him, threatening to topple him over the edge and into the treacherous river below. He clutched desperately onto each side of the bridge, his legs beginning to shake more violently. He'd never been afraid of heights before, but the fact that one slip-up could send him to his death was frightening.

"Hurry up!" came a shout from one of the prisoners on the other side of the ravine.

Hesitantly, Owen lifted his head. He was surprised to see that he was almost halfway across the bridge. Steeling himself, he straightened his posture and began to slowly walk forward. He cringed each time the wooden floorboards groaned and stretched under his weight, but unlike last time, they seemed to hold steady. He continued at a faster pace, the sound of the river below drowning out the thumping of his metallic heartbeat.

Before he knew it, he landed on the grass. One of the men clapped him roughly on the back as he scurried out of the bridge's way and practically fell into the group of awaiting prisoners.

"Last one! Keep it moving!" Tobias shouted, tapping his foot impatiently as he ushered Kara over. Owen turned around to watch, the fluttery sensation still in his stomach. Kara didn't look down once as she walked across the bridge. The bridge swayed slightly as she made her way across, but that didn't seem to faze her. In a much shorter time than Owen had, she joined their clustered group.

Owen exhaled sharply, releasing the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Satisfied that they'd all made it across, Tobias led them into the jungle. The rest of the group followed, Owen and Kara trailing behind them a few feet away.

They cut through the dense undergrowth as they walked, the noise of the river slowly dissipating behind them. The dirt path that they'd seen yesterday was barely existent now, and every step Owen took landed him in either a thin layer of mud or a small bush. The trees were so tall here that they seemed to loom above Owen's head like skyscrapers, and he couldn't see the top of one without craning his head. The air felt suffocatingly warm and stuffy, and if it wasn't for his ever-present terror, he probably would've joked to Kara about finding a swimming pool in this prison.

"I've always wondered how big the jungle is. The prison designers made it feel like it goes on forever," Kara said, slapping a gigantic leaf out of her face.

Owen started to respond, then closed his mouth. Thirty or so yards away, the trees shook and rustled, causing goosebumps to form on his arms. The rest of the group tensed up, coming to a stop. After several more seconds of the trees around them rustling, a dinosaur stomped into view, every step it took feeling like a small earthquake.

Tobias grinned. "This one's a keeper. Get your weapons prepared. Should be easier than that T-Rex we tackled yesterday."

" _Easier_?" Owen repeated despite himself. He couldn't believe this guy! He was absolutely crazy!

"W-We should try hitting it from far away before it gets too close," a man said, cowering behind a woman.

"Yeah!" another woman piped up, looking terrified. "That sounds like a good idea."

"Keep your mouth shut and do what I say, you hear me?" Tobias said, giving the group a warning look. Then he started charging forward, aggressively pushing through the leaves and creating a lot of noise. Having nothing better to do, the rest of the prisoners ran after him.

"You ready to make some new dinosaur friends?" Kara asked, running beside Owen.

He shook his head repeatedly, feeling like he was going to throw up all over again. "Definitely not!"

As their group barreled forwards, the dinosaur growled and turned towards them, snapping it's jaws angrily. It pawed at the ground with it's clawed foot, then ran towards them. It's footfalls shook the ground so heavily that Owen almost lost his balance, but he somehow managed to stay on his feet. The dinosaur's head dipped low and it's mouth opened wide, revealing a set of huge teeth.

Yelling something, Tobias threw his long stick straight into the dinosour's mouth. The dinosaur skidded to a stop, then started to choke. While it was distracted, Tobias ordered the rest of the group to tie it up. Half of the prisoners rushed to one side of the dinosaur, the other half to the other side. Someone chucked a long rope over it, and it reached all the way across it's back and touched a few inches above the ground.

Before anyone could begin tying the rope, however, the dinosaur roared again, then started thrashing around violently. Everyone instantly jumped back. It's long tail smashed into several of the prisoners, causing them to soar several feet away. Owen gasped, hurriedly looking for a good escape route as the dinosaur's tail came whipping around again. He looked over just in time to see the tail inches from his face, and he quickly held his hands up to defend himself, but his reaction wasn't fast enough to stop the tail from plowing into him.

The force of the blow sent Owen flying, the world around him tumbling precariously until he hit something hard and could only see black. For a moment, he couldn't breathe; everything hurt. He slowly pried his eyes open, the dinosaur's powerful roars and the shouts of prisoners echoing through his ears. He seemed to have hit a tree, and after that he had landed in some huge leaves, which conveniently kept his body out of sight. Owen blinked, groaning as he put one hand out to push himself off the ground.

He heard another roar, but it was farther away. He stumbled back into a tree as more tremors caused the earth to shake. His vision was still a bit hazy, but he could tell that the dinosaur had fled somewhere. There were only a few prisoners around him, all laying on the ground and looking to be either unconscious or dead. Owen couldn't tell which. He also couldn't see where the rest of the group had gone, but he could hear voices somewhere in the distance.

He scanned the jungle around him, searching for one face in particular. Where was Kara? Was she okay?

Owen pressed himself away from the tree, his head pulsing in pain. He took a few hesitant steps forward, looking each way for any sign of his dinosaur hunting group. It was hard to tell where they were with all the trees and leaves that covered most of the area. Did they really just leave him to die and get eaten?

Wiping the sweat off his brow, Owen trudged in the direction of where he assumed the voices were coming from. He had to find Kara, at least to make sure she was safe. Being alone in a jungle crawling with prehistoric beasts was also a factor to that. He definitely didn't want to be by himself out here.

A rustling of leaves from nearby sent Owen's pulse increasing yet again, and he froze. _Oh no_. Another dinosaur? This was the absolute _worst_ timing —

Then he heard a growl, and a huge blur launched itself straight at Owen. The boy screamed, his eyes practically popping out of his head. He quickly flattened himself against the ground and rolled to the side, hearing a _thump_ from just behind him. He quickly crawled away and scrambled to his feet, turning around to see whatever had tried attacking him.

It was a velociraptor. The dinosaur had crashed into the ground head-first. It rose to it's feet with some effort, then fixed it's eyes on Owen. It took a small step forward, crunching the leaves beneath it. Owen gulped and slowly backed away. This wasn't going well.

"Y-Yo-You really don't want to eat me," he said quietly. The dinosaur growled in response, snapping it's mouth open and closed. Owen flinched and jumped back, his whole body on edge. The dinosaur continued advancing towards him, it's orange eyes memorizing Owen. It opened it's mouth again and took another slow step forward, it's nostrils flaring. The dinosaur was too close. There was nowhere he could run without getting eaten or killed, somehow.

Seeing no other option, Owen raised the pistol with a trembling hand, all of his hairs standing on end. Despite the heat, his hands felt cold and clammy. For a moment, dark spots appeared before his eyes, and he rapidly blinked them away. His own movements began to slow down, except for his breaths, which came out short and fast. The growling intensified, and the dinosaur stalked forward again, cocking it's head.

"Go away," Owen told it, his lips quivering uncontrollably. His arm shook violently, causing the gun to rattle in his hand. He forced himself to stay in his tracks, keeping the pistol trained on the dinosaur. He had to kill it. He couldn't die. He _couldn't_. Not with Bethany's safety weighing on him. His mouth had gone dry, and he struggled to swallow. But he couldn't focus. He was frozen.

WHAT PATH WOULD YOU LIKE FOR OWEN?

Owen is eaten.

Owen shoots the dinosaur.

 _Don't be stupid, just kill it already! It's going to eat you!_ The thought banged around in Owen's head so hard that it echoed. He winced, his face contorting in pain as he reached a hand up to massage his forehead. The thought sounded right in a lot of ways, but he didn't want to kill anything. He took a deep breath, trying to steady his thoughts. He couldn't blame the readers for this. They didn't know what they were doing. Only Nobody was at fault.

Unable to fight back against the will of the readers, he squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the trigger. He instinctively flinched, expecting a loud noise. But nothing happened. He opened his eyes, then frantically clicked the handle on the gun over and over. It wasn't working!

He looked back at the dinosaur, which seemed to smile at him. It's eyes narrowed, and it threw it's head forward, snapping it's jaws right where Owen's head was. Owen leaped back, not even looking where he was going. The dinosaur followed closely, now only a few inches away from Owen's face. Then his back bumped against a tree.

"Oh _no_ ," Owen murmured, flattening himself as far as he could against the tree. There wasn't anywhere to escape now. And now that his pistol wasn't working, there was no other option besides getting eaten by this obviously-hungry velociraptor. Out of all the cool ways to die, this was definitely _not_ awesome. It would just a long, painful death, and that was hardly heroic at all. And it was a lot earlier than he wanted to die.

The dinosaur opened it's mouth wide, revealing large, very sharp-looking teeth that seemed to glint in the sunlight. With a growl, it lunged straight towards Owen's face. The boy shrieked and automatically held his hands out, his eyes squeezed shut.

"Leave him alone!" Owen heard someone yell, but he assumed it was all his imagination.

Then he heard a yelping noise, followed by the sound of something solid hitting the ground. Still shaking, Owen opened one eye, then the other. The velociraptor was now on the ground, moaning with pain. And standing in front of Owen was a very angry-looking Kara.

"That's what you get!" she shouted. She bent down to pick up a large rock, then chucked it at the dinosaur's face. It flinched away, then scrambled upright and hissed at her. She waved her knife in it's face. "Huh? You want more?"

The dinosaur backed away, it's eyes darting from Kara to Owen. Ultimately deciding that it's chance at a free meal was lost, it made a small chirping noise and turned around, darting back into the trees.

"Kara?" Owen whispered, slowly turning back to face her. He started to smile, then pulled away from the tree he'd been up against. He had never felt so relieved. He placed a hand on his chest, feeling the rapid beating of his heart that pounded like a drum. "You . . . _saved_ me?"

Kara stuck the knife in her pocket, then threw her arms around his neck and hugged him close. His arms were pinned to his sides, and he was too shocked to register what was happening. When she pulled away, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Was she crying?

"W-What happened?" Owen inquired. "Where's the rest of the group?"

"They're over there," she said, pointing in a direction. "They're trying to capture that other dinosaur. While they were fighting it, I snuck away to look for you. I was so caught up in the action and I didn't realize they left you out there. I didn't realize you weren't with us." She took a deep breath. "I'm so relieved you're okay. I was really worried."

"Me too," he said quietly. "I tried using my gun, but it didn't work." He lifted the gun, showing her it. "The bullet wasn't in it. If it wasn't for you, I would've . . . died."

"Yeah," Kara muttered, looking at the ground. Voices were heard in the distance, jolting Owen back to the task at hand.

"We should get back to the group," he said, although he really would've preferred to be alone with Kara.

She nodded, forcing a smile. "Yeah, we probably should."

"Not so fast, Ms. Dox!" a woman's voice said. Owen and Kara both whipped around, surprised to see a complete stranger in the middle of the jungle. A woman with bright white hair and an elaborate gray cloak wrapped around her shoulders stepped into view. As far as Owen could see, she was the only one in the prison not wearing an orange jumpsuit.

Kara gently pushed Owen back, stepping protectively in front of him. "Do I know you?"

"Oh, you wouldn't know me yet, Ms. Dox," the woman said, giving them a hungry smile. "You'll know me soon enough, when your future becomes your destiny. However, you shouldn't worry about that for now. I've come to know that you two have been searching for those time watches."

"You know about that?" Owen asked, feeling shocked.

"Yes, and I'm not judging you for it. Everyone here wishes to find the time watches, but no one knows where they are. Oh, wouldn't it be _amazing_ if someone, if _anyone_ knew where they were?"

Owen and Kara looked at each other, then nodded. The woman stepped closer to them. "That's convenient for you, then. Because _I_ , The Countess, know where they're located."

"You do?" Owen gasped, clinging to her every word. "But — but how? Where are they?"

"If I told you, Mr. Conners, it would only cause a time paradox." The Countess knit her eyebrows, looking at him with a pitying expression. "You know how those are, right? Sorry, but I can only tell Ms. Dox this information. After that, she can share it with you. She's —"

"Immune to paradoxes," Kara finished, looking more curious than anything. "How do you know so much about me?"

The Countess smiled. "Well, Kara, I'll have to tell you that later. The future can wait. For now, I'll only tell you what you desperately need to hear: the location of the time watches." She walked closer to them. "There's a storm tonight. No one will notice two children if they slip away during a storm."

"What are you talking about? What storm?" Owen asked, raising an eyebrow. "The sky is completely clear."

She glanced at Owen, then waved him off. "Go back to your group, boy. We won't be long."

"But Kara —" Owen started to say, but Kara smiled at him, causing his insides to yet again go fuzzy. "I'll be okay. Go back to the dinosaur hunting squad. I'll be right behind you."

Reluctantly, he nodded, not really liking this. Why was Kara so trusting of this stranger? There was something off about The Countess, but if she knew the location of the time watches, that meant she was good. It meant she wanted to help Owen and Kara escape. Somehow, there had to be something good about this woman. Despite her strangeness, Owen knew that she only wanted to help. If that wasn't the case, she wouldn't be telling them where the time watches were.

With these thoughts, Owen ran off to the group, a strangely optimistic feeling blossoming in his chest. Was this . . . hope? Yes, it was! _This_ was what he wanted to feel in fictional books. It was how adventures were meant to feel, right? And if The Countess had any idea what she was talking about, it meant Owen was one step closer to getting out of here and saving his best friend from an evil faceless man.

* * *

After the dinosaur hunting squad had successfully delivered an unconscious dinosaur to the Time Security Agency, Owen and Kara hadn't talked much. After her talk with The Countess, Kara had been strangely quiet. It looked like she was thinking about a lot of things, all at once. Since Owen was already stressed enough as it was, he allowed himself to be patient about this. Maybe Kara was just waiting for the right moment to tell him. The 'right moment', it turned out, didn't come until dinner time.

"I know where they've been hiding them," Kara announced quietly to Owen during dinner. "This morning, The Countess told me a riddle, and I finally figured it out. I really should've realized sooner! It's so obvious!"

He blinked, turning to look at her. "What are you talking about?"

"The time watches," she said, grinning from ear to ear. "It's why we couldn't find them the other night. It's because they aren't anywhere in this building. They're in the _jungle_!"

* * *

After learning the uplifting news that the time watches were located in the jungle, Owen thought he'd feel a sense of hope. It was so long since he'd felt that, and he actually missed the feeling. While he did feel some of it, he felt more dread than anything. Finding the time watches would mean going back into the jungle . . . which would result in more dinosaurs trying to eat Owen.

He didn't like the idea at all, but he knew that it was the only option. He had to get out of here before it was too late, even if it meant putting himself in a lot of danger to do it. This was the only way. He didn't have anything helpful such as Kiel's magic or Bethany's ability to jump out of books, but at least he had his time powers, which proved to be beneficial when in dangerous situations.

Not only that, but Owen didn't really trust this "Countess" person. Although Kara seemed to trust her . . . upon their first meeting, she seemed a bit shady. But maybe Owen was overthinking this, because of his past experiences with fictional characters. Maybe The Countess was actually trying to help Owen and Kara out. Maybe she was as nice as she acted. Was it bad to think that a genuinely nice, helpful person existed in this book? Maybe not.

Either way, he _really_ hoped The Countess was right about the time watches being in the jungle. If not, Owen would never escape from this place, and that would _not_ be good.

Owen rolled over in bed, listening to the usual faded dinosaur roars that came from outside. Rain patted against the roof and slid down the bars that lined the small window. In the distance, Owen could've even sworn he heard some thunder, but that couldn't be right. The whole day had been completely clear, without a trace of a cloud. Had The Countess been correct? Was there actually a storm coming?

Owen sighed heavily, his eyes wide open as he stared at the darkness that was his jail cell. Sometimes, even if it was only a little bit, he hated himself. He cringed every time he messed something up or embarrassed himself in front of his friends. He tried to be responsible for everyone, but he felt like he continuously messed things up, even when he was trapped in a _Pick The Plot_ book.

What if he messed up everything during his and Kara's escape to find the time watches in the jungle? What if he messed things up tomorrow with Tobias, or what if The Countess was secretly evil and wanted to kill him? What if he was too late for saving Bethany, and she hated him when she saw him again? What if Charm hated him? Sometimes it sure seemed like she did.

On top of it all, he had barely any self-esteem. Especially when comparing himself to Kiel, who, despite being the brother he never had, was perfect in every way. He did everything right, and he was always the hero. Why couldn't Owen ever save anyone? Why couldn't he be more than just the boy who was Bethany's best friend, who messed everything up and failed to defeat Nobody when he had the chance? He was only a sidekick. Bethany was the one with half-fictional powers, and Kiel had his magic. The only 'power' he had was the fact that he read a lot of books, and had knowledge about that. But still, Owen could hardly be called useful.

These negative thoughts spiraled around Owen's brain, leaving no room for anything uplifting. Why did he have this need to be liked, when it was blatantly obvious that everyone disliked him? He'd been kicked around by Nobody and Fowen, who reminded him of the truth: he was a normal, nonfictional boy with no contribution to anything. He had simply been tossed aside as if he were nothing, and he hated that feeling. But he couldn't prevent it now. The moment he started thinking these bad thoughts, the deeper he sunk into them.

Owen sat up in bed and was struck with the realization that he hadn't been breathing. He sucked in some air, coughing as he did so. His breaths were weirdly unsteady, and he coughed again, louder this time. There was a heavy weight on his chest, similar to the many times Spike had nestled up on his chest when he was asleep. What was going on?

He put a hand over his chest, still coughing consistently. He quickly stood up from his bed and a rush of blood came to his head. A wave of heat rushed over his body, consuming him completely. He continued to cough, practically choking. He gasped for air, but he couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe!

Owen heard someone call his name, but it wasn't any louder than the ringing that filled his ears. Was he dying? Had the readers decided to kill him? His heart hammered in his chest, as fast as a hummingbird's wings.

He heard the voice again, suddenly cutting through the fog. "Owen! What's wrong?"

He couldn't respond. More panicked thoughts flooded his brain, which made everything worse. He continued to cough painfully, his body wracking with every cough that left his mouth. He heard a clanging noise, and then another noise as he saw the door of his cell opening.

It was Kara.

She grabbed his arm, staring up at him with worry. "You need to sit down."

Owen let her lead him to the bed. He slowly sat down, still coughing. His body was shaking.

"Try to take deep breaths," Kara instructed. Although her voice sounded calm for the most part, it seemed forced.

Owen managed to suck in some air, his vision slowly growing sharper. He took in another breath, focusing on the wall in front of him. His coughs slowly subsided, and he took in deep breaths, his chest still painful. He looked over at Kara, who held a fearful expression. She was sitting next to him. He felt thankful that she wasn't touching him, or else he would've felt worse.

"I'm fine. I was just coughing," he assured her, once he was positive his coughing fit was over. He rubbed his eyes, which were surprisingly wet. Had he been crying?

"No, you weren't," Kara said. "I've seen people do that before. It's called a panic attack."

Owen swallowed hard, feeling a giant lump in his throat. It was still slightly difficult to breathe. "Oh."

She nodded solemnly. "Anxiety is what triggers it. Trust me, whatever you're thinking, stop thinking it. Okay? Negative thoughts will only make you feel worse."

"I can't really help that," he said in a tone that was much harsher than he expected it to sound. He took another deep breath. "That's never happened to me before. I thought I was dying."

"You just need to focus on your breathing. That's the most important thing. When you have less oxygen, your brain can get fuzzy. Focusing on your breath can calm you down."

He stared at her with bewilderment. "Where did you learn that?"

Kara shrugged, then smiled a little. "When I did time travel, I guess. I'm honestly not sure when. I saw this lady having a panic attack, so me and this other girl ran over to help her. The girl knew a lot more about panic attacks than I did, so she knew what to do."

"Thanks," Owen whispered, looking back at the floor. His vision became hazy again and he rubbed at his eyes, forcing himself not to cry. He knew Kara wouldn't judge him for it, but he felt so embarrassed. How could this happen? Even now, in a book, everything he did turned out as an embarrassment. Nobody must've really enjoyed humiliating him.

* * *

Just outside, the storm was slowly growing massive. Thunder boomed through the Time Security Agency, shaking the building and causing the lights to flicker. At one point, the lights turned off. And so did the electricity.

The commotion went unnoticed at first. It was late at night, and the soldiers patrolling through the halls were not focused on the loud dinosaur noises that were often heard. Since noises like these were not uncommon, the soldiers didn't think of any reason to be concerned.

All of the carnivorous dinosaurs, big or small, were kept in electrically-wired cages. Every time a dinosaur tried to escape, they would find themselves zapped with electricity; the dinosaurs quickly learned to stay in the middle of the cage. Because of the storm, however, this problem was fixed. After the first dinosaur — a small Compsognathus (a bird-like dinosaur) — escaped it's cage, the rest followed suit. In their excitement at the possibility of an escape, the other dinosaurs quickly learned how to break out of their own cages.

In a matter of hours, the Time Security Agency would be no more.

* * *

Bethany heard footsteps approaching, and she looked up in time to see a man wearing a long coat and oversized hat. He was observing the bookshelves with curiosity, and then looked her way. His eyes widened the slightest bit, and then he actually smiled. "Bethany? Is that you?"

She blinked in surprise. "Sorry, do I know you?"

The man's face drooped a little. "Right. Uh, you might not remember me." He walked closer to her and took off his hat, revealing more of his face. Weirdly, he looked recognizable, but she couldn't recall seeing him anywhere. "I . . . was a friend of your parents. I was just talking to your mother."

"You were?" Who was this man? And why hadn't her mother ever mentioned him? Were they friends in high school, or something?

The man nodded. "My name is Murray Chase. I . . . figured you might not remember me." He pointed towards the tables filled with books, where the sale was going on. "I actually came by to see this book sale, mostly because they're selling comic books. I'm a comic book artist."

"You're a comic book artist?" Bethany asked, raising her eyebrows. "For which comics? I might not know it. I don't really read that many."

Murray started to answer, but then Bethany's mother came around the corner. Her eyes widened, and she looked from the man to Bethany. "Oh! Um, Bethany, I've actually been meaning to introduce you to him. This is an old friend of mine and your dad's. I see you've been talking?"

Bethany nodded. "Yeah, we have. I didn't know you guys were friends."

Her mother forced a smile, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Murray, could I speak with you for a minute?" She stared pointedly at him, then started walking back towards the front of the library. Murray gave Bethany one last smile, then followed her mother out of view.

"What just happened?" Bethany whispered to herself, staring at the spot where her mother and the man had just been. It almost felt like they were both hiding something from her. If this guy was her friend, why was her mother acting so weird? It didn't make any sense. Somehow, she had to figure this thing out.

* * *

 _"My insecurities are my own worst enemy, yeah. Something's not letting me move the way I used to . . ."_

 **A/N - This isn't really in context but the song Void ESPECIALLY with the lyrics I posted above is just... wow. Such an Owen song. Like these specific lyrics right above is such an Owen line.**

 **Also, wow I really butchered Owen's self-esteem! I feel a little bad about that, but it's ok he'll be fine. Well folks it only goes downhill from here! At least for the next few chapters, and then things MIGHT get better.**

 **Whoever is reading this, thank you for reading, you are all amazing! I love to see how people are liking my story! I'd definitely appreciate it if people left feedback and comments on this chapter! They would make my entire day :)**


	12. A Very Un-Merry Christmas

**A/N - There is a trigger warning for anyone who doesn't like reading about blood or dangerous situations. I didnt add too much at all about blood though, since i tried to make it easy to read :). I didn't add much detail, but if you don't like to read about that in general, feel free to always skip the scene if you need to.**

 _ **Demons (by Imagine Dragons)**_

 _ **"**_ _When you feel my heat, look into my eyes. It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide . . ."_

* * *

The ice skating rink was a lot bigger than Bethany remembered it.

The last time she'd been here was with her mother, a few years after her father had passed away. They'd gone for her seventh birthday. It was a long time ago, but Bethany remembered the day clearly.

Ever since that fateful night where her father disappeared and never returned, she lost her circle of friends. She used to have a lot, but that was _before_ she began pushing people out of her life. It seemed that people no longer wanted to be her friend, either, much less attend any of her birthday parties.

For several years after Bethany's fourth birthday party, she invited her friends, even if they weren't very nice to her anymore. They never came. Her mother assured her they were out of town for the week, or they were sick, or they had an important family matter to attend to. Bethany knew better. Her seventh birthday wasn't any different.

On that day, her mother decided to take her ice skating for the first time, since it was her birthday. Excited at the idea, Bethany begged to have a party. Her mother was against it, but she eventually relented. And so, she invited a group of her classmates, all ones who had attended her fourth birthday party. When they got to the ice rink, Bethany waited. And waited. And waited. They didn't come.

She didn't end up going ice skating that day. She had cried for a solid twenty minutes in the car ride home, and vowed to never have another party. Besides the special birthday dinner she had with her mother every year, that was it. There weren't any more parties.

"Hey, are you ready?" Liz asked, snapping Bethany from her thoughts. She blinked, looking over at her friend, who had just finished tying up her ice skates.

"Almost," Bethany said. She quickly finished tying her the ice skate on her left foot and went to the next, tightening it as much as she could. It was the first day of winter break, and it also was Christmas Eve. Since neither Bethany nor Liz were doing much for the holidays until later that night, they decided to go ice skating.

Bethany had decided against telling Liz the whole Kiel-faking-his-identity fiasco. The last thing she wanted to do was spread rumors, even if Liz _was_ her closest friend. But Bethany knew Liz, and she wasn't the type of person who was great at withholding rumors. Plus, Liz seemed to like Kiel, and Bethany didn't want to crush her friend's spirits by informing her that Kiel wasn't actually who he claimed to be.

There was another reason — a more prominent one — why Bethany didn't want to tell anyone about her newfound knowledge concerning Kiel. Despite everything that had happened within the past week or so, Bethany also didn't want to ruin Kiel's education — or whatever it was that he'd come here for. Clearly, he wasn't a secret agent or a serial killer, so he wasn't dangerous in any way.

If he wanted to stay here, Bethany wouldn't begrudge him for it. They'd go to school together, but they just wouldn't be friends. She didn't want to be friends with him anyway, even if he _was_ nice, and really cool, and probably a little too full-of-himself. No, those parts didn't matter. He had lied about his entire life to Bethany, and friends weren't supposed to lie to each other. Friendship was supposed to be built on trust.

Bethany stood up and placed both hands on the rail in front of her, clamoring awkwardly on her two skates. The sound of laughter and voices echoed soundly across the room. The rink was filled with people: kids racing each other, couples holding hands as they glided smoothly across the icy surface, and the occasional people who had more difficulty moving.

"I can't believe we're going _ice skating_!" Liz said with a grin. Her own hands were gripped along the rail as they shifted over to the rink's entrance.

"Me neither," Bethany said, shaking her head. She was more terrified than she wanted to admit, but the people here looked like they enjoyed it. If they were enjoying it, she could too, right?

They came around to the entrance of the rink and opened the short door. Bethany stepped out first. Her foot slipped and she gasped, latching onto the railing beside her. Next to her, Liz stepped onto the ice rink more calmly, easily balancing on her feet.

"I don't know about this," Bethany said as her friend began to glide around. She was still clutching to the railing, too afraid to let go.

"It'll be fine!" Liz said, extending her hand towards Bethany and grabbing her by the elbow. "Come on, Bethany! It's safe!"

"No, wait —" she started to say, but Liz had already begun yanking her away from the railing. Bethany almost collapsed into her but quickly spread her arms out and leaned forward slightly, breathing hard as she regained her balance.

"See?" Liz said, letting go of her and easily skating in a circle around her. "Just start moving."

"Easy for you to say!" Bethany said, sighing deeply in annoyance. Staring hard at the ground, she slowly started forward and managed to move a few feet without falling. A small grin appeared on her face, and she moved forward again, slightly faster this time —

— Only for the world to slip out from under her. She inhaled sharply as her back collided with the freezing ground, then groaned.

"Oh my god!" Liz shouted, kneeling down and grabbing her by the arms. She slowly helped her into a sitting position. "Are you hurt?"

For a moment, Bethany stared at the ground, shock resonating through her veins. Her heart was beating like crazy, and she felt winded. She grunted, rubbing her slightly sore back, then took Liz's hands and allowed herself to be pulled up. As she got back to her feet, she almost slipped again but held herself steady. She glanced over at Liz, forcing a smile. "I think I'm fine. I just slipped."

"Do you want to keep ice skating?"

"Yeah. Of course! My back doesn't even hurt that much." Understatement of the century, but Bethany really _did_ want to try ice skating. Even if her back was sore from the fall, she couldn't let this one slip-up drive her away.

She looked over at the throngs of people who were all cheerfully skating across the rink, most of them having zero issues whatsoever. She nodded in affirmation at Liz. "Let's do this."

Tentatively, Bethany crept forward, holding her arms out on either side of her for balance. As long as she wasn't being risky, she could do this. She managed to skate forward, more easily this time. She still wobbled on her feet, but she felt slightly less afraid now that she'd already experienced falling.

Beside her, Liz skating at a faster pace, expertly turning in circles. Bethany gritted her teeth as she moved at a snail's pace, wishing she could move just as fast. Thinking only on impulse, she jerked her right leg forward and dug it into the ice, attempting to speed up. Once again, she landed hard on the icy surface, and the air was knocked from her lungs.

"Bethany, are you okay?" Liz asked, quickly skating over to her. Just like last time, she carefully helped Bethany stand, then rubbed her back. "Don't worry, everyone falls on their first time. I fell about twenty times when I first tried ice skating."

"But that was when you were _younger_ ," Bethany said, trying to keep the distress out of her voice. "I'm fifteen. I thought this was going to be easier, not harder!"

"Just like most things, ice skating is a skill that you learn over time." Liz pointed to a boy, a few years younger than them, who had just fallen to the ground. "See? It happens to everyone."

Bethany sighed, then wobbled slightly as she moved forward yet again. The problem was: the ice rink felt incredibly slippery. How was it so easy and effortless for everyone else? She forced herself to keep trying, to not give up. Often, she went too fast or too slow, and she fell. By her fourth fall, Liz insisted on holding onto Bethany, not keen on seeing her fall more times.

They skated for about an hour, but for Bethany, it felt like a frustrating month. By the time they were finished, she was immensely relieved. She could say that she _had_ gotten slightly better, although not enough to skate fast across the rink.

After they returned their rental ice skates to the checkout counter, Liz walked over to the double glass doors. "Check this out. It's snowing like crazy out here!"

Bethany pulled on her coat, then walked over to her, peering out the window. The parking lot outside was already blanketed with a thick layer of snow, which lay in heaps on top of each car. The sky was a blinding white, and huge snowflakes continued raining down and dotting the ground in an endless chain. "Wow, it wasn't even snowing this _morning_. I hope your mom can drive here to pick us up without a problem."

"I think she'll be fine," Liz said dismissively, her eyes still on the window. "That's a _lot_ of snow. I wonder how much we're supposed to get?"

Bethany shrugged, letting out a breath of air which fogged up the window. "I think the weather forecast called for ten inches, or something like that."

"No way," her friend countered, then looked at her. "Really?"

She smiled in response, then pushed open one of the double doors. A gust of cold wind blew into her, and flakes latched themselves to her face and hair, but she didn't mind. With the growing excitement of Christmas Eve, she felt slightly numb to the cold. By now, the footprints from people had been covered by additional snow, the traces of their paths all erased.

Bethany dug her gloved hands into her pockets and closed her eyes, liking how the cold numbed out everything — even her thoughts. It was nice to not think about anything for once. It was a rare occasion that Bethany just let herself . . . drift. In a matter of minutes, her cheeks and nose were flushed red from the cold, and her clothes began to feel slightly wet from the snowflakes plowing into them. She didn't mind. In fact, she liked it.

"Are you crazy?" Liz's voice rang out to her. She opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder to see Liz poking her head out of the door. "It's freezing out there!"

"I like it!" Bethany insisted, stubbornly staying rooted to the ground and simultaneously trying to hide her shivering.

A moment later, Liz's mother pulled up in a bright orange pickup truck. Bethany and Liz hurriedly made their way over, the blur of white snowflakes slightly blinding Bethany's vision. Liz threw open the door, quickly getting inside. Bethany followed right behind her, then slid into a seat and closed the door shut. The inside of the car wasn't much warmer than it was outdoors. Her teeth chattered excessively, no matter how much she tried to hide it.

"Hello girls!" Mrs. Davis, Liz's mother, said. There was loud music on, and she made no effort to turn it down at their arrival. Instead, she leaned closer to Liz. "How was ice skating?"

"It was fine," Bethany said through a trembling mouth, raising her voice above the noise. Now that she wasn't outside anymore, the cold suddenly felt less bearable. She quickly rubbed her arms, trying to force warmth into them.

"Mom, could you —" Liz began, but her mother immediently broke out into song. "Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la, la la la la. Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la, la la la la!"

"Sorry," Liz whispered with a sigh, visibly cold. "My mom's kind of immune to the cold."

"And she doesn't turn on the AC anyway?" Bethany questioned, throwing a look at Liz's mother, who was focused on the road as she sang.

She had met Mrs. Davis a few times, but the woman had always seemed a bit . . . off. As if not all of her brain was together. She certainly didn't envy Liz for her family. From what Bethany had gathered, Liz's father worked all the time to support their family, and wasn't home very often.

Even if her own father wasn't around, Bethany felt grateful that she at least had her mother. Although she worked late hours and wasn't often home unless it was the weekend, at least she was completely sane.

"So, what are you doing tonight?" Liz asked. "Are you having a Christmas party?"

Bethany shook her head. "Not really. It'll just be me and my mom. Pretty much the same as every Christmas I've had." Her eyes flickered to Liz's mother, who's presence made her slightly uncomfortable. "What about you?"

"We're having this huge family party," Liz said, smiling now. "We throw one almost every year. You know how I have, like, five aunts and uncles on both my mom _and_ my dad's side? Yep. You probably won't hear from me until _after_ winter break."

Bethany laughed. "At least you have family to celebrate with. My mom hates throwing parties. When my dad was alive, he —" A pang hit her hard in the chest, and she couldn't breathe for a moment. She quickly regained herself. "We used to have big parties."

"Sorry," Liz said, giving her a pitying look. Bethany turned back towards the window, not wanting anyone to feel sorry for her. Why did she get so emotional every time she talked about her father? There was nothing she could do about it, anyway. Her father was dead, and he had been since she was four years-old. He wasn't going to somehow magically reappear. That would just be wishful thinking.

* * *

It took Kiel some time to understand that "winter break" meant a week off from school. He had heard all of the students chatter excitedly on and on about this holiday called "Christmas", and apparently there was another holiday called "New Years"? He finally realized what they'd meant when he walked to school that morning and saw that no one, not _one_ _person_ was there.

 _This is good_ , he told himself as he teleported back home. This gave him a week to come up with a decent plan to get rid of Oliver, and a week to also gain Bethany's trust back. Somehow, the harder concept was the second one. But he needed to try. Despite everything Bethany had said, what she believed, or what Oliver threatened him with, Kiel would _not_ back down. He wasn't that type of person. As long as he had a goal, he could remain optimistic.

Sure, he'd stay away from Bethany to avoid getting beat up again, but once Oliver was completely out of the picture, he'd tell her _everything_. Everything about her half-fictional life. Elijah was right: he couldn't keep these things from Bethany anymore. She didn't trust him now, but once he told her the truth, she wouldn't be mad. In fact, she'd feel grateful!

He reappeared in his house, then walked over to Elijah, who was on the couch. "I need a gift for Bethany. Today . . . or I think tomorrow, is this nonfictional holiday called 'Christmas'. Apparently, it's a tradition to get gifts for your friends and family."

When Elijah said nothing, he continued, "Do you think a gift will make her want to be my friend? She doesn't want to be my friend anymore, but I think her thinking is narrow. Who _wouldn't_ want to be my friend?"

Elijah looked over at him, then sighed. "That sounds like a good plan. Where can we get one?"

Kiel frowned. He hadn't thought of that. He didn't even know what Bethany might like. Then, he thought of it. Why hadn't he thought of this earlier? It was a perfect idea. He gestured for Elijah to follow him, then started towards the door and pushed it open. "C'mon. We're going to the library. I think I know exactly what she'd like."

* * *

Bethany had nearly forgotten that tonight was Christmas Eve, but the various decorations and the smell of baked goods that wafted through the house was a quick reminder. A small fire was ablaze in the fireplace. Silver garlands were wrapped around the stairwell, and the Christmas tree was adorned with ornaments and candles. Her and her mother were never big on throwing large parties or inviting tons of guests when the holiday season rolled around.

When Bethany's father was around, things were different. The friends and relatives of her parents would come over to celebrate, and the party would last until the last hours of the evening. Bethany had been very young, so she didn't fully remember the parties. But she remembered that the parties had such a feeling of euphoria to them, and although she was now used to having a quiet holiday, she still missed how much fun the holidays used to be.

"Bethany? Is that you?" her mother's voice shouted from the kitchen.

"Yeah!" Bethany replied, hastily closing the door to prevent the funnels of snowflakes from blowing inside. It had been freezing both in the car and outside, and now that she was inside she shivered at the sudden change in temperature. In the entryway, she shook the small amount of snow that had gathered on her coat and boots. When she was done, she removed her shoes and coat off, setting them aside to dry.

She still shivered consistently, practically soaked to the skin. She combed a hand through her damp hair and made her way over to the kitchen, where the aroma of baked goods are most prominent.

"Hey, Beth," Mrs. Sanderson greeted, in the middle of removing a tray of chocolate chip cookies from the oven. The smell hit Bethany's nose dead-on, and her mouth began to water. But she knew she'd have to wait until after dinner, which disappointed her. Along with the cookies, her mother had also prepared a small, lavish meal for dinner. Since it was only for the two of them, their dinners didn't take very long to make.

"Good, you made cookies," Bethany said, walking over to where the tray of cookies now sat. While her mother's back was turned towards the fridge, she plucked one from the tray and stuffed it in her mouth. It was warm, and the taste of chocolate oozed in her mouth. She grinned. Maybe the holidays weren't going to be so bad after all.

Her mother turned back around, not noticing the missing cookie. She peered at Bethany, then reached out to feel her hair. She withdrew her hand with a gasp. "You're soaked! You weren't outside that long, were you?"

Bethany shrugged, knowing her mother would worry about the littlest things. It was something she'd probably inherited. "I had a snowball fight. Don't worry, it only lasted a few seconds." She decided against telling her mother about her standing outside for ten minutes. Her mother would probably figure out a way to lecture her on it.

"Oh, okay," Bethany's mother said, stepping back towards the oven. "Go get a shower. You can't just walk around with soaked clothes. You can get easily sick that way. Do you _want_ to catch a cold?"

She made a face, then nodded and retreated up to her room to avoid further reprimanding. She wished she was back in the library, where she was completely surrounded by books. Books didn't give her lectures about soaked clothes; they only listened. Why couldn't her mother do more of that?

Sometimes, Bethany felt like she _needed_ to keep things from her mother. Not that she didn't trust her, but she was so used to keeping most of her personal life directed away from her mother. Plus, if her mother knew how much time she _actually_ spent at the library, she might force Bethany to go straight home after school. That wouldn't be good at all. The library was her favorite place.

When she was done showering, she raced back downstairs for dinner. The sun had just set and a few candles had been placed on the kitchen table, illuminating the room with a warm glow. The table was completely set, filled with delicious, homemade food that made Bethany's stomach growl.

"Finally," her mother said with a small laugh, already seated at the table. "Let's eat!"

* * *

Later that night, as her mother went to sleep, Bethany laid on the couch, wide awake despite the very late hour. Though her body ached for sleep, her thoughts whirled around in circles, which dissuaded her from any chance of falling asleep.

For some reason, her thoughts raced back to Kiel. They often did. She found herself wondering how he was spending his Christmas Eve. Was he with his host family, although he wasn't actually German? Did he even _have_ a host family? Where was he staying? How was he enjoying Christmas?

Why _was_ she thinking about him so much? She couldn't keep thinking about him. She just couldn't. They weren't even friends anymore! Why did she care about him so much? Another thought of Kiel popped into her head, and she let out a frustrated sigh, slowly peeling herself away from the couch.

Bethany glanced out the window, which was piled with snow. Aside from the light that shone down from the moon, it was pitch-black outside. Soon, it would be 12:00 am. Before she knew it, it would already be Christmas Day. Her eyes drifted towards the decorated tree, where a few presents were huddled underneath. The fire, which had been burning brightly a few hours ago, had now dwindled.

Yawning, the girl walked over to her backpack, pulling out _Pick The Plot_. Since it was winter break, she figured she'd have a lot of time to read it. Plus, with the warm temperature mixed with the smell of the dying fire, chocolate chip cookies, and the pine tree, it was the perfect environment for reading.

Sometimes, she imagined Owen was a real person, not just a fictional character. As she delved deeper into the book, the more connected to him she felt. Which was ridiculous, because he wasn't even real! But the way the author had written him . . . he just seemed like someone she could know. She wished that was the case. If she knew him in real life, she had an inkling that they'd be friends.

* * *

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._

An obnoxious noise stirred Owen from his deep sleep. He groaned loudly, his eyes still closed shut as he extended one arm to fumble for his alarm clock. Why did he have to go to school today? When the alarm continued to blare, he realized that he didn't have an alarm clock, and he was still stuck in the fictional world. Wait, what was happening?

Feeling confused, Owen slowly blinked his eyes open, and his vision was consumed with bright, flashing red lights. His eyes widened, and he quickly sat up in bed. Was this a fire drill, or something?

He glanced over at the window, where it was still raining. Thunder boomed every few seconds, and the occasional flash of lightning illuminated the inside of the room. It was still very dark out, aside from the occasional flash of bright red that the alarm would give off. He hurriedly threw his legs over the side of the bed and put his sneakers on, his heart beating fast. When he was done, he looked across his jail cell, out into the isle.

That's when he noticed that there were no other prisoners in the hallway. There was only him. Along with that, every single cell door was open.

Owen's mouth dropped open. His brows furrowed in confusion, trying to make sense of everything while the loud _beep_ of the alarm filled his head. Warning bells went off in his mind as he carefully stepped outside of his cell, looking right and left. Just for good measure, he checked inside Kara's cell, hoping and praying that she was there. She wasn't.

Had he slept through a drill? Why hadn't anyone woken him up? What was going on? Where _was_ everyone? Where was Kara?

Then, from somewhere in the distance outside the long hallway filled with jail cells, Owen heard screams. Then, he heard a loud _roar_ , and the ground shifted underneath his feet. Owen's blood went cold, and he froze, every single hair on his arms standing on end. Dinosaurs were attacking the Time Security Agency!

He gulped, then slowly made his way towards the exit door, which hung slightly open. The sounds of gunfire, yelling, and screeching and groaning from the dinosaurs were a distant ring in his ears. His heart sank into his stomach as he continued advancing forward, inch by inch.

Once he got to the door, he gingerly pulled it open, flinching at the way it creaked. Slowly, Owen exited the hallway, ready for anything. There was no one in sight, but through the flashing lights he could make out the small specks of blood on the floor. He shuddered, his nerves rising as he forced himself to keep walking. From what he could see, several ceiling panels had fallen out of place, hanging by wires. Someone, or _something_ , had definitely been here.

Another roar echoed from somewhere close by, which was enough to set Owen's feet in motion. His heart pounding a mile a minute, he fought every instinct and bolted towards the noise. No matter what, he had to escape somehow. He didn't have a choice. It was a matter of life or death.

As he rounded the corner into the next hallway, he stopped short at the unusual sight of blood. It was peppered all over the floor. Too distracted with the sight, Owen didn't look where he was going and tripped over a person that laid on the ground. He landed hard on his chest, then quickly scrambled to his feet, throwing a glance at the person he'd tripped over. He gasped, then almost choked. The person was dead, and they were completely unrecognizable.

Owen tasted bile in his mouth. He backed away from the decomposed body, his eyes trained to the spot. He felt sick at the sight of it. His eyes wandered around the room, and that's when he noticed two other people lying on the floor, who were most likely dead. He couldn't tell.

A loud, otherworldly growl sounded down the hall behind him, and Owen nearly jumped out of his skin. It was hard to breathe, especially in this fear-ridden environment. Shaking uncontrollably, he slowly turned around, and found himself face-to-face with a dinosaur. His eyes wide with terror, Owen stumbled backwards. The walls seemed to close in on him as the creature stalked forward, it's teeth dripping with saliva.

"Readers?" Owen whispered, backing away more as he stared at the monster. "A-A little h-help here?"

There was no response. _Great_. Now that he needed the readers, they had vanished! That wasn't helpful at all.

Apparently deciding that Owen wasn't going anywhere, the dinosaur suddenly lunged forward. Owen shrieked and turned on his heel, throwing a terrified glance over his shoulder as he sprinted away. The dinosaur chased behind, it's footfalls shaking the earth. Owen turned the corner and almost slipped over yet another small pile of blood, but quickly regained his footing. In his panicked state, he barely noticed the other few guards and prisoners that laid across the floor. He couldn't tell if they were dead or alive, but he had to assume they were dead. Aside from those few, there weren't many others; it made Owen wonder if there were other survivors.

Owen continued running blindly down the halls, trying to ignore the dull ache that filled his lungs from the excessive amount of running. He could practically feel the dinosaur's breath tickling his neck, plowing into him with each heavy breath.

With the flashing red lights and the deafening beeps that continued soundly through the building, it was hard to tell where he was going. He tripped and collapsed head-first into the floor, his knees forcefully hitting the ground. A loud roar radiated through his body, causing the floor to vibrate beneath him. He flipped around, hurriedly skittering against the wall before the dinosaur could catch him.

Before he knew it, the dinosaur opened it's mouth and darted towards Owen. He screamed. At the same time, his body vibrated with an intense energy. The dinosaur froze before his very eyes, it's mouth mere inches away from Owen.

"AHH! AHH! AHH!" he screamed over and over, pressing his body against the wall as he stared into the huge, gaping mouth. When he was done screaming, he moaned, his head suddenly dizzy. "Oh my god . . ."

Steeling himself, Owen carefully slid out from underneath the dinosaur, not releasing his hold on time. His instincts told him that he should probably get as far away as possible. He set off at a brisk walk, leaving the frozen dinosaur behind. The lights were no longer flashing, and instead, there was nothing but darkness. Even if using his time powers tired him out a little, it felt nice to relax for a moment without any additional noises or lights flashing overhead.

Once he turned down another hallway and got out of view of the dinosaur, he exhaled sharply, bracing himself against the wall and resting his head in the crook of his elbow. Tears sprang into his eyes, and he couldn't tell whether it was from the fear of being killed or the exhaustion, or just the overwhelming emotions that had been bottled up inside.

He needed to get out of here before it was too late. He still needed to find Kara.

Nearby, more gunshots and the roars of dinosaurs were heard. Owen was pulled from his trance, and he realized that he must've unconsciously reset time without realizing it. The alarms blared, and the lights were flickering once again, switching from pitch black to bright red every other second. Owen clamped his hands over his ears, willing the noises to stop and wishing this would end.

Then, he heard a forceful roar just behind him. Before Owen knew it, he was running again. Despite the exhaustion, and despite the pain in his legs, he ran, not bothering to slow down for a second. The prison was a maze of corridors, and he would've worried about where he was going if he were thinking clearly.

As he ran down the halls, he tried his best to avoid the occasional piles of blood or rare, very few bodies. He didn't know where he was going, but he headed towards wherever the screams were coming from, hoping that Kara might be alive.

"Hey!" a guard suddenly appeared at the end of the hallway, pointed a gun at Owen. "Get over here! Stop —" Before Owen could respond, a dinosaur appeared and tackled the man to the ground. The man hit the ground hard with a surprised shout.

Horrified, Owen slapped a hand over his mouth, then turned in the opposite direction, fleeing into another hallway. Almost every corner he turned brought a new dinosaur, and he quickly learned to kick his time powers into gear whenever that happened. This prevented the dinosaurs from following him, but Owen could feel himself slowly slipping. Soon, if he wasn't careful, his exhaustion might give out.

At one point, the screams and yells of prisoners and guards had gotten close enough where Owen was positive they were just around the corner. He stopped running and slumped against a wall, catching his breath. He was too exhausted to run anymore. Huge, black spots loomed before his eyes. He sucked in short, panicked breaths, his back against the wall as he listened to the noises just down the hall.

The screams had died down, and now he heard only footsteps, along with the occasional roar. He slowly trudged out of his hiding spot against the wall and turned the corner, bracing himself for what he was about to find.

What he _did_ find was a mostly empty room, just like nearly every other room he'd come across. In this room however, there was one prisoner slumped against a wall, his leg bleeding profoundly. As Owen tentatively approached, the man wearily looked up. Then, his eyes widened. "You can't be here. Get out of here, while you still can!"

"But I-I don't know where to go," Owen said quickly, nervously looking around. He looked back at the man's leg, which was beginning to pool with blood. "H-Here, let me help you." He bent down, searching wildly for some type of bandage.

The man held a hand up, stopping him. "There's no helping me anymore. I'm a time prisoner. I deserve this. But you, you're a young boy. You can still escape while you have the chance."

Owen shook his head. "I need to find my friend. Her name's Kara Dox. Have you seen her?"

The man winced, obviously not too keen about Kara. "You know that horrible girl?"

He glared at him, then leaned in close to the man, trying to appear threatening. "Yeah, I do. And she's _far_ from horrible. Where is she?"

The man grunted, then looked to the right. "I might've seen her go in that direction. I'm not sure. Everything's been chaotic. The dinosaurs are destroying everyone and everything."

"Thanks," Owen said, rising to his feet. As he walked away, he felt guilty about leaving the man behind to die. But he knew there was no point trying to save him. Owen had to find Kara, then get out of here. If he stayed any longer, he might not live through the night.

As he walked down the hallway, straining to hear any more noises, he heard a strange noise from the dark corner. He gulped, stopping in his tracks. Through the flashing lights, he could make out the form of a dinosaur. Owen forgot how to breathe. He only stood there, dumbly watching it stand in the corner.

And then, as if sensing something, it's head rose. The dinosaur turned to face him, snarling and spitting huge drops of saliva at Owen. It ran forward, it's huge feet inflicting small tremors in the ground.

In the next hallway over, Owen heard various footsteps and shouts. A second later, a group of guards appeared, all holding guns. Except, judging from the surprised and panicked looks on their faces, it didn't look like they were running to the dinosaur. They were running _from_ something. Right after they appeared, Owen heard another roar, and a second dinosaur skidded into the narrow hallway.

The first dinosaur that had begun running towards Owen now stopped, growling at the appearance of newcomers. As it turned around to face the guards, it swung it's tail out, swiping Owen off his feet. Everything careened upside down as he flew through the air, unable to stop his momentum. Then, he collided with a wall, and pain exploded through his body.

Everything went black.

* * *

"Get up!"

"K-Kara?" Owen's lips barely moved as he murmured her name. His eyes were half-closed, and his entire body felt sore, especially his head. Then, the sound of gunshots filled his ears, and his eyes fully opened. Instead of Kara, though, he saw the last person he'd ever hope to see: Tobias.

"Good to see you're awake now, Mr. Conners," Tobias said, a bored expression on his face and a taser in his hand. "When you didn't respond, I was ready to use my taser."

"I'm glad you didn't." Owen slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, groaning as he did so. He lifted a hand to massage the back of his head, which must've hit the wall, because it hurt. Behind Tobias was a group of guards, who were all busy fighting two dinosaurs at once.

"What's going on?" Owen asked, his eyes trained on the fight. Somehow, he felt less scared of Tobias and more scared of the dinosaurs.

"The dinosaurs have been real tricky lately," Tobias replied, looking down at Owen and raising a gun in his other hand. "Real tricky. They've escaped their cages."

He gasped, then looked at Tobias in shock. "Wait, _what_? The dinosaurs escaped from their _cages_? For a prison like this, I'd think you'd have better security."

"Our security is top notch, prisoner," the dinosaur hunting instructor replied, glaring at him. "After everything I've threatened you with, how _dare_ you insult the Time Security Agency."

"Huh? No, I —"

Without warning, Tobias grabbed him by the arm, pulling him off his feet. Then, he pushed Owen back into the wall. "Don't move an inch. Got it?"

Owen nodded vigorously, his body dripping with sweat. He watched as Tobias ran back to the other guards and assisted them with fighting the two dinosaurs. Many of the guards had managed to shoot the dinosaurs, but it seemed like their bullets didn't fully affect them. Among the group, there were already many wounded. Owen needed to escape before the dinosaurs got bored and decided to kill _him_.

He looked left, then right. To the left was back in the direction he'd come, where he talked to the dying man. To the right was another long hallway, which hopefully led to Kara.

Owen glanced at Tobias, checking to see if he wasn't looking. Seizing his chance, he made a run for it. He sprinted down the hall to the right, his muscles screaming in exhaustion. As he ran, the dinosaur noises and shouts of guards slowly faded behind him. He didn't look back.

His mind was running a mile a minute, and he knew he needed to do something. He was completely lost, and he didn't even remember where the air lock was that led him outside.

Just ahead at the end of the hallway, he heard more heavy footsteps. Owen skidded to a stop, his head darting around for any possible hiding places. Then, his eyes landed on an unopened air lock labeled "testing room". He ran to it, using all his might to twist the handle and pull the door open. Without looking, he hurried inside, carefully closing the door shut behind him.

Then, he turned to face the room. Aside from the flashing red lights, it was dark, and Owen had to peer to be able to see anything. He quietly walked deeper into the room, looking around for anything that might help him. It was a lab, with plenty of counters that were filled with scientific equipment. He opened a drawer that was positioned on the side of one of the counters and rummaged through its contents. He only found some testing tubes, where weren't very helpful given the situation.

Then, he spotted a roll of gauze sitting a few feet away. If he got hurt, that might come in handy! He searched for some scissors, then unrolled the gauze until it was almost the length of his body. He cut off the end and stuffed it into his pocket.

Owen backed away from the counter, trying to think. He glanced around the room, but didn't see any windows. Could he hide here until the chaos was over? It sounded logical, but probably not. The dinosaurs weren't going to stop until they killed everyone here. Plus, his main priority was finding a way out of here and finding Kara. If only she was with him. That would make things easier.

He walked back to the air lock door, pulling it open as quietly as he could. He took in his surroundings. The hallway was empty, at least for now.

Owen abandoned the testing room and raced in the same direction he'd been running in all along, looking everywhere for a sign of Kara. Luckily, there weren't any dinosaurs in this area, at least not in the hallways he was running in. He didn't know if he had the strength to take on more dinosaurs. This whole night was too overwhelming.

He turned the next corner, now at a walking pace. That's when he saw her.

At first, it was too dark to tell. But as he got closer, he could spot her pink hair. She was laying on the ground. He noticed that her leg was bleeding, and her face and neck had multiple scrapes on it.

"Kara!" Owen yelled, desperation seeping into his voice. For some reason, maybe due to exhaustion, his legs gave out. He fell to his knees. He began to crawl forward on his hands and knees, hoping and praying that she wasn't dead. She _couldn't_ be dead. Once he got close enough to see her whole form, he reached his hand out and touched Kara's cheek.

She didn't move at his touch. He frantically removed the gauze from his pocket and rolled up her pant leg until it was knee-length. He spotted the wound where her shin was, which was where most of the blood was pouring out of. He set her leg down, then wrapped the gauze around it. He had to redo it multiple times, because the gauze kept unraveling or slipping out of his shaking fingers. After his sixth attempt, he finally wrapped it tightly enough that it stayed on her leg.

Owen looked back at her face, which was ghostly pale and chalky. He hoped she would wake up soon. He needed her help. He wasn't sure exactly how to escape from here. How could he, with the dinosaurs prancing around? He needed a plan, a good one that would get them out of this place.

"Kara?" Owen asked in a hushed tone, trying to be quiet to avoid any unwanted attention from dinosaurs. Although from the sounds of it, there weren't any nearby. Every so often, he'd hear the distant roar and the screams of people, but he wasn't even sure if that was real or just in his imagination.

He wiped his brow, which was beaded with sweat, then quickly shook her by the shoulders. "Get up."

Kara didn't respond. Trying not to panic, he shook her again, harder this time. "Kara, get up. Get up!"

"Wake up!" he said in a louder tone. He shook her again and again, until he thought he might've saw her eyelids flutter. He immediately stopped trying to rouse her, instead sitting back on his knees. "Kara, I need you to wake up. We're going to be trapped here if we don't find a way to escape."

The antagonizing seconds of waiting bled into minutes. Finally, her eyes flickered open, sending a barrel of relief through Owen. She set her gaze on him, looking deeply confused. "Owen?"

Through the exhaustion and terror, he somehow managed to smile. "Hi."

Kara's features relaxed for a moment, before she looked up at the ceiling and spotted the flashing lights. Her eyes widened, and she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, groaning in pain as she did so. "How did you find me? The dinosaurs . . . they're . . ."

"They're killing everyone. I know," Owen said, repositioning himself to sit cross-legged beside her. "We need to get out of here, Kara. The only problem is, I don't remember where the air lock is that leads us outside."

"Don't worry, I know where it is," Kara said. "I promise I'll get you there."

"But what about your leg?" Owen asked, pointing at her injury. Although the wound was now bandaged, there was a huge blood stain that had soaked through Kara's pant leg. "You lost a lot of blood, Kara. And you probably will have trouble walking."

Kara sighed, looking at the ground. "A dinosaur got me with it's claw, that's all it was. You have to promise me that as soon as the door opens, you go through, and then you get to the jungle to find the time watches. Do you promise?"

He stared back nervously, not sure what she was implying. How could she not leave if she had the chance? "Kara," he began, scoffing in disbelief. "It's almost like you're saying goodbye."

"That's because I am. This is the only way it's going to work. Once we get to the air lock, you need to get yourself outside and make a head start for the time watches."

"No." He shook his head, grabbing her by the shoulder. "Are you insane? _No_. I don't even know where they are, and there's no way I'm leaving you here. You'll get eaten!"

"I'll be fine. _You need to leave —"_

"No, I'm not leaving. Not unless you come with me."

"This isn't an option, Owen," Kara said. "I'll get you to the air lock, but once we're there, just go, okay? Get to the time watches. The Countess said they're hidden in some type of underground tunnel. Get there, and you can get out of here. You can get to your friend. Do you promise you'll do it?"

"Kara . . ."

" _Do you promise_?"

Owen stared at her pleadingly. He wanted to say no, that he would never abandon her here. There was nothing left for her here. The prison was practically gone. What was she thinking, staying here? She was probably delirious from all the blood she'd lost.

But if he stayed here with her, things would go downhill quickly. First, they'd get eaten. Then, Nobody would track down Bethany, and both the fictional and nonfictional worlds would suffer. That was the best case scenario here.

"I promise," he said finally, hating himself for it. "But . . . I just don't understand why you can't come with me. Don't you see that the time prison is already gone? The dinosaurs broke out of their cages, and they've already killed hundreds — if not more. They'll kill you too."

Kara shook her head sadly. "I need to stay at the time prison. If I get a time watch, I won't be helping anyone. I'll be destroying the world, one way or another. And if I go with you . . ." She looked at him. "I'll loose you, too."

"What?" he asked. "What do you mean?" When she didn't answer, he sighed. "You can tell me later. There's no point in staying here, okay? It's not safe. Besides, I really need your help. I can't do this by myself."

Slowly, she nodded. Owen stood up, extending a hand towards her. She took it, and with some difficulty, she stumbled to her feet. She seemed to be weak, especially considering her leg problem.

They began walking in a direction, Owen's arm wrapped around her shoulders to assist her with walking. As they made their way to the air lock that would lead them to freedom, Owen prayed that they wouldn't get attacked by any more dinosaurs. He was exhausted enough as it was, and he had too much anxiety right now to have yet _another_ thing to worry about.

Even with Kara's directions, it was hard to figure out where they were headed. The hallways they passed showed exactly how much damage the time prison had received from the dinosaurs attacking. Owen tried not to look at the ground, as some of the floors were scattered with drops of blood, and sometimes they even saw the occasional deceased person.

Instead, he looked at Kara every so often, who had somehow gotten paler. She looked at everything with wide, sad eyes. She appeared to be in as much shock as Owen, if not more, given the fact that she wanted to stay here. She glanced at him, shaking her head with creased brows. "I can't believe it's _gone_."

Owen didn't have the heart or the energy to cheer her up. He attempted to smile, just to reassure her and himself that things would be alright, but he wasn't even sure if they _would_ be. As they neared the hallway where the air lock was, the sound of earth-shaking _thumps_ sent a shiver down Owen's spine.

He looked at Kara, who put a finger to her lips. He shakily nodded. They hovered right beside the hallway that would lead them to the air lock, each of them pressed up against the wall. The footfalls got closer, and then, a huge, clawed foot sunk deep into the floor right outside their hallway. Owen didn't breathe; he was frozen with fear. He craned his neck up, and up, and up, only to see the most terrifying dinosaur of them all: the T-Rex.

Owen nearly screamed. Before he could, he clamped a hand over his mouth, instead producing a small, strangled noise at the back of his throat. Luckily, the dinosaur didn't seem to hear him. He watched as the T-Rex opened and closed it's mouth, producing small growls every few seconds and causing huge drops of saliva to fall from it's teeth. As the T-Rex slowly walked away, Owen turned towards Kara.

"T-Rex," he mouthed, pointing a thumb at the dinosaur.

"I know," she mouthed back.

Owen gingerly poked his head into the hallway, then looked around. The T-Rex was walking away in the direction of where the air lock was. It hadn't turned around yet, which indicated that it hadn't sensed Owen and Kara. Yet.

He shuffled back and looked at Kara, who was leaning heavily against the wall. "The dinosaur is headed in the same direction as the air lock. Maybe, first, we can tie ourselves up with pillows so we don't get hurt, and then, if we can distract it somehow . . ."

Kara shook her head and nearly giggled, but stopped herself. "Not the worst idea, but I don't think it would work. We're both weak. Our best chance is to sneak into the air lock as quietly as possible."

Owen made a face, tightly curling his hands into balls. "I hate this plan."

She smiled for the first time that night. "So do I."

After checking to make sure the T-Rex was still facing the other direction, Owen and Kara walked to the air lock, trying to keep as quiet as possible. As they got closer, Owen cringed, hoping that the T-Rex couldn't smell them. It had already eaten enough people tonight, right? Maybe it was full for a change?

As they neared almost ten feet away from the air lock, the T-Rex stopped moving. It made a low, roaring noise, then loudly sniffed the air. To Owen's horror, it twisted it's head around and unleashed a roar. It started running towards Owen and Kara. Kara gasped, then grabbed Owen's hand, half-pulling him towards the air lock despite her injured leg. But someone else got there first. And it wasn't the T-Rex.

The T-Rex roared in anger, leaning it's head down to take a bite of Owen and Kara, but suddenly, it dissolved. Not just one piece of it. The entire T-Rex disappeared in front of their eyes. As the dinosaur faded, a woman appeared, right behind where the T-Rex had been standing only a few seconds ago. It was the Countess. She held up a long, silky glove in her right hand, and it was glowing.

"What just happened?" Kara whispered to Owen, who's mouth was hanging open. She turned to the Countess. "You saved us?"

She began to cackle, her glowing gloved hand stretched out toward them as she stepped closer. "Oh, no, dear Kara. I did not save you. What you call 'saving' was only for my benefit. I can't have you two dying so quickly, not until you give me what I want."

"Wait, you set us up? Was 'helping us' all a trick?" Kara demanded, raising her fists

The Countess sighed. "Of course, Ms. Dox. I would've expected you to figure it out by now, but I guess I was wrong. In the future, you disrupt plans that I've been working on for over half a century now. Then you'll turn me over to the TSA, who will send me here, to this _disgusting_ time prison." She made a face, then smiled. "Luckily for both of us, escape is optional now."

"So what does that glove do?" Owen asked, hoping she wasn't going to use it on him and Kara. Clearly, it had worked on the dinosaur.

The Countess looked down at her glowing glove, smiling down at it with adoration. "It devours time from your body, stripping you from your mortal existence and ravaging your physical form until your remains collapse into dust."

Huh. That was . . . new. "W-What do you want?" he asked, his voice quivering as his eyes darted back and forth from where the T-Rex had just been standing to the Countess.

"I want to get out of here, just like you do. And I want to get my hands on those time watches. Once I do, my plans will be fulfilled, and I'll be able to rule everything, forever! Adding onto that, I'll certainly make sure that _you_ , Ms. Dox, will suffer terribly."

"Did you ever think that threatening me now might be what makes me come after you in the future?" Kara asked, crossing her arms. "If you leave us alone, it's not too late. We won't interfere with your plans, whatever they are."

"Yeah," Owen added, nodding along. "We won't mess up your plans, even if you _are_ creeping me out."

The Countess rolled her eyes, stepping closer to them. Owen backed away out of reach of her glowing glove. "I think it's far too late for that. I would never take either of you at your word. If I did, I wouldn't be here, locked in this time prison." She moved to the air lock and pressed her gloved hand into it. The door made a hissing noise, then slowly dissolved into a pile of dust.

"Let's play a game," she said, turning back to Owen and Kara. "Whoever gets to the time watches first . . . wins."

"What happens if we lose?" Owen asked, glaring hard at her.

She smiled. "You get to watch each other die. It's only fair, after everything you put me through."

 _What?_ Owen thought. Why on earth would the Countess want that? Why was everyone in this time prison crazy? Why couldn't one single person want to help him and Kara? This book _definitely_ belonged in the horror section. There was no doubt about it.

"You're a monster!" Kara shouted, starting to lunge towards her. But the Countess held out her glove, and Kara quickly backed out of her reach.

"I'll give you both a head start," she said with a sickening laugh, moving behind them and pushing them both through the air lock and into the jungle. "If I were you, I'd _run_."

* * *

It had taken Kiel longer than he expected to find what he was looking for, along with all the necessary materials that came with it. He and Elijah had spent the entire afternoon at the library, scrounging the internet for Christmas gift supplies. Once they'd collected the information they needed, Kiel had asked Ms. Conners for some wrapping paper . . . whatever that was.

He wasn't sure exactly what "wrapping paper" meant, but it seemed to be some type of paper that was wrapped around a Christmas gift. The good part was, she gave him some for free! He wasn't sure why she kept helping him, but he was grateful for it. It wasn't like he had any money laying around, anyway.

After getting the wrapping paper and Bethany's present, he and Elijah rushed back home to prepare the perfect gift. Having no experience with this, the boy magician had a lot of difficulty wrapping it by himself. Eventually, he gave up trying to make it look perfect and decided it was ready. He was positive that as long as Bethany liked it, that was all that mattered. He only cared about gaining her trust back, not about anything else.

It was late Christmas morning when Kiel decided to stop by the library, feeling hopeful that Bethany might be there. Maybe she wouldn't be, because this was a nonfictional holiday. But then again, she was always at the library. Why would today be any different?

Kiel teleported to the back of the library, shuddering slightly once he caught sight of the same spot he'd been nearly choked to death. He grimaced, rubbing his still-sore neck at the memory. It wasn't nice to think about. During the fight, he'd been so weak. Kiel Gnomenfoot didn't _do_ weak. He won everything, didn't he?

The only thing it reminded him of was that he needed to fight back against Oliver, and he needed to _win_ this still had to come up with a plan, but that could always wait until tomorrow. He had plenty of time for now.

Straightening his shoulders, Kiel walked around the side of the building, hoping that Bethany would be there. He hoped she wouldn't get mad again, because that was the _last_ thing he wanted to happen. No, this would all work out. It would. Even Charm acted like she hated him, but she obviously didn't. He was too amazing for anyone to hate him.

"Kiel, how are you doing? Does your throat still hurt?" Ms. Conners asked as he entered the library. She looked concerned. She had asked him this yesterday too, when he borrowed the wrapping paper from her.

"Only every time I speak," Kiel joked, adding a wink to his statement.

She smiled. "How come you're here on Christmas? Shouldn't you be with your family?"

He started to say something, then quickly cut himself off, almost forgetting that she didn't know his real identity. "Um, yes. I was. I actually need to give a gift to Bethany." He scooped up the wrapped present from his bag, feeling a sense of pride that he'd put this together all on his own. He gently placed the gift back inside and looked over at the rows of bookcases, searching for Bethany. "Is she here?"

Ms. Conners nodded. "You probably shouldn't startle her too much. She's been reading this sci-fi-looking novel ever since she got here an hour ago."

Kiel grinned. "I won't." As he made his way through the library, searching for her, he began to feel a little bit nervous. Last time he checked, she had stated a number of things, calling him a liar, and telling him to "stop following her around." Right. There was that. It had been a slightly disheartening to know she thought those things about him. But he couldn't let her words stop him from being her friend.

Deciding not to back out of it, Kiel pushed forward along the bookcases, his eyes scanning for any signs of his redheaded friend.

* * *

Bethany turned to the last page of her chapter, reading all the way to the end. She was shocked at how quickly things had escalated in _Pick The Plot_. First, with the dinosaurs escaping their cages. She'd only seen the first _Jurassic Park_ movie, but from what she could gather, the author of _Pick The Plot_ had heavily based most of their storyline on it. Then, everything seemed to have gone downhill for Owen and Kara. They survived the dinosaur attacks, yes, but how would they outrun the Countess?

Bethany sighed tiredly, using her knuckles to rub her eyes. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night, but this morning made up for it. Since it was only her and her mother, there weren't many gifts exchanged. But Bethany didn't really mind. She was used to that.

What she appreciated most was the warm, cheery sensation during Christmas morning, which gave off the vibe that anything was possible. It sounded incredibly cheesy, almost like she herself were a superhero. Not that she'd ever think of herself as one, because she really _could care less_ about superhero comics.

She heard footsteps come around the corner, near the children's section where she was sitting. The footsteps belonged to a raven-haired boy, who had his back turned to her as he entered the children's section, looking around. He seemed to be searching for something. Then, he looked her way, and Bethany's heart leapt in her throat. It was Kiel.

Kiel stared at her for a few seconds, not saying anything at first. Then, he walked over to her. "I got you something." He retrieved a small, rectangular box from his bag and handed it to her. At the same time, Bethany rose from her seat and positioned herself in front of him. As he passed it to her, she curled her fingers around it, gazing for a moment at his hand on the gift.

"But . . . I don't have anything for you," Bethany said, looking back up at him. She felt both surprised at the gift and guilty that she'd driven him away. She glanced down at the box in her hands, which was loosely and messily wrapped in blue reindeer wrapping paper. If she didn't know any better she would assume that Kiel had wrapped it himself.

"It's okay," Kiel said, flashing her a meaningful smile. "Good Christmas."

"Yeah. _Merry_ Christmas," she corrected. Despite the fact that they weren't friends anymore, a smile curved onto Bethany's lips. She couldn't tell if he was faking it or not, but he still seemed to have trouble with modern phrases and objects. In a way, it was kind of cute.

She leaned down and put the box into her backpack. When she stood up, he was already walking out of the children's section. She hurried after him, stopping once he was in sight. "Hey, Kiel?"

Only a few feet away, Kiel turned around. She placed her hand on a bookcase. "How was your Christmas?"

He smiled at her. "It was good. I probably didn't do it right, though. I hope you like your gift." He started walking away, then glanced back and threw his signature wink at her. "I guess I'll see you at school."

"See you at school," Bethany echoed, watching him leave. Maybe she had made a mistake to judge him so quickly, after all. No, scratch that. She _definitely_ had judged him too quickly.

She walked back to her beanbag chair and sat down, placing Kiel's gift in her lap. She couldn't believe he had gotten her a Christmas gift. Trying her best to suppress a smile, she gently opened the gift, being extra careful not to damage whatever was inside. After ripping all the wrapping paper off, the gift was revealed to be a hardback book, similar to the thousands she'd read before. The cover depicted a boy clothed in black, with a cape flying majestically behind him in the wind. The title was printed in elegant, golden letters: _Kiel Gnomenfoot and the Source of Magic._

"Really?" Bethany whispered, staring at the book in disbelief. He'd gotten her a Kiel Gnomenfoot book? She would've laughed if they were still friends. And she _definitely_ wouldn't be lying if she said this gift didn't annoy her the slightest bit.

She sighed, running her fingers over the texture of the book. Even though he had gotten her a book she probably would never read, the gesture still caused a warm feeling to blossom in her chest. She almost wanted to run out the door and thank him just for getting her something, but she quickly decided against it.

Instead, she turned her attention back to _Pick The Plot_ , set on reading at least another chapter before the day was over.

* * *

They'd been running for the past thirty minutes.

Owen was panting, his legs burning and his hair slick with sweat. He was exhausted, but with the Countess's ominous threat hanging over them, he knew they had to get to the time watches as fast as they could.

Racing beside him, Kara swatted a leaf out of her face. "I . . . think . . . we . . . need . . . to . . . stop . . ."

"What . . . ?" Owen breathlessly asked. He turned to her, but she was already coming to a stop. He did the same, nearly colliding into a tree in front of him. He coughed violently, placing a hand on his chest. When he finally regained his breath enough to speak, he looked at her. "We have to get there before the Countess does. We can't stop running, Kara."

She shook her head. "The jungle is huge. She said the time watches would be in an underground tunnel, but she didn't say _where_. I don't think she knows where they are, either." She glanced around at their surroundings, then perked her head up. "Do you hear that?"

He frowned. "Hear what?"

Kara motioned for him to follow, then pushed through the trees. He walked behind her, completely on edge. At every turn, he felt like a dinosaur would jump out at them. So far, their run had been surprisingly uninterrupted. Owen had expected to see at least one dinosaur, but instead, he didn't. Occasionally, he'd hear the distant roar of one or two. But since it was nighttime, they appeared to be sleeping.

"Where are you going?" Owen asked, staring at the back of her head.

"Somewhere that might be a shortcut," Kara said, then placed her hand on a tree and stopped. With her other hand, she pointed somewhere right below them. " _There_."

Owen followed her gaze, then inhaled sharply. It was the same ravine they'd ventured across using the rope bridge, except this time, the water rose higher, and the roar of the waves was much louder than before.

Surprised, he looked at Kara. "How'd you know this was here?"

"I found it yesterday," she told him. "Compared to the other ravine, it's a lot less high up than you think. If we cross it, we should be able to get to the time watches faster."

Owen shook his head over and over. "There's no way we can go across there. The sun hasn't even risen yet! And there isn't a bridge!"

"We don't need a bridge," Kara said. "Luckily for us, there's a log that'll get us across."

He looked back at the ravine, searching for the log she was talking about. Several feet ahead of them, he saw a long log, which connected their side of the cliff to the opposite side. Hesitantly, he walked up to the fallen log, surveying its condition. It was covered with moss and the wood looked worn out, but he hoped the log would still be sturdy enough to hold someone his and Kara's size.

"Fine," Owen said, mustering up his courage. "I _really_ don't want to die, but I guess we're doing this."

Kara grinned at him, then briefly squeezed his hand. He was thankful it was still dark out, or else she probably could've seen that he was blushing. "I can go first," she offered, stepping in front of him.

"Okay. But be careful," he said, his eyes darting nervously to the rushing water below.

She took a step onto the wide log, stretching her hands on either side of her for balance. She took another slow step, her eyes trained on her feet. The log creaked slightly, but seemed to hold steady. She managed to slowly walk across halfway before turning back to him and calling, "C'mon, Owen! It's safe!" She took another step, and the floor underneath her groaned loudly. The end of the log dipped downwards, causing Kara to trip and crash into the log, her hands automatically curling around it. Before Owen could comprehend what was happening, the rest of the log tilted all the way down, and the log, including Kara, fell.

" _KARA_!" Owen screamed as she hit the water, her head disappearing under the waves. He heard the roar of a dinosaur behind him and didn't stop to think. He ran over to the edge and stood there, his legs shaking so hard that they threatened to buckle beneath him. He was afraid, but the thought of Kara possibly drowning was enough to propel him forward, and he jumped straight into the water.

The next thing he was aware of was a bone-chilling shock that coursed through his body. Despite the warm temperature of the jungle, the water was _freezing_. Owen's eyes flew open, and he found himself in pitch-blackness. The current pushed hard against him, propelling his body against his will. He couldn't tell which way was up and which was down.

Completely disoriented, Owen choked, sucking in a mouthful of water. He desperately pumped his arms and legs, trying to regain control. But it was hard to see, and he could even tell where he was going, or what direction he was facing. He kicked his legs more forcefully, ignoring their soreness. After a several tries, he finally broke through the surface, gasping for air.

He held his hands out on either side of them, trying his best to stay afloat. The water continued shoving him, threatening to push him underneath the waves. He fought against it and managed to raise his head a few inches above the waves. "Kara!"

Owen sucked in another mouthful of water, and he coughed. He strained his eyes through the dark, trying to catch sight of where she'd gone. With the waves that endlessly pounded into him, combined with the cold and the terror he was feeling, he couldn't concentrate. He could only focus on keeping himself above the water.

Then, he heard Kara's voice from somewhere ahead. "Owen!"

He gasped, then began moving with the current instead of against it, trying to get to her. "Kara! Kara, I'm —" A wave washed over him, sending him tumbling back underwater. Darkness overcame him, and his lungs soon burned for air. He kicked upward with all his might, not even sure if he was going in the right direction.

Then, he collapsed into something, and he felt a hand latch around his wrist. Someone pulled him up, and he choked for air above the surface of the waves. Weakly, he glanced over and saw Kara, who was still holding him tightly. She lifted a hand above the water and pointed somewhere to the right. "Swim there!"

Owen was too tired to say anything, instead allowing Kara to lead the way. His wrist still clamped in her grasp, he followed her direction and kicked with all his might, trying to evade the strong current. It barely felt like they'd made it two feet before the current tugged even more strongly, now completely impossible to fight against.

He and Kara desperately pushed against the current, trying in vain to get to whatever Kara had seen, but it was too late. Before Owen could even shout a warning, the water dipped, and world slipped out from underneath them. He lost his hold on Kara, and the last thing he remembered was free-falling off the cliff of the waterfall, tumbling head-first into the darkness below.

* * *

A few days later was the start of the new year, and upon arriving back at school, Bethany discovered an unusual amount of excitement among the students that hadn't been there before. She didn't know if it was from Christmas, or just the fact that it was officially a new year, but something had shifted in the air.

"Did you know that less than two percent of the population has red hair?" Oliver stated during lunch, straightening his round, thin-framed glasses.

It had been a strange sort of surprise for Bethany to find Oliver sitting at her table as she arrived for lunchtime. She didn't understand why he was sitting here again, but she didn't think too hard on it. He probably just wanted to make some new friends. She understood that. Her whole life, she'd had plenty of difficulty with making friends.

"I didn't," Bethany replied, trying to seem busy with her food, because Oliver had some _strange_ conversation starters. She didn't know why, but she always felt a little bit uncomfortable when he was around. He seemed nice enough, though. So why did she feel that?

"I have not met many girls that have red hair. Your color is remarkable. Is it natural?"

Bethany almost choked on her food, feeling slightly awkward at the compliment. But she nodded anyway. "It's natural. My dad's hair was red, too."

"Was? Oh, that's in the past tense. If I'm assuming correctly, is he dead?"

"Yes," she said in a small voice, leaning back into her chair. She cleared her throat, trying to seem unhurt. "But I don't really feel like talking about that. It's kind of personal."

"Ow!" Oliver suddenly cried, yanking his foot up and bending down to touch the back of his ankle.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there," a voice said. Bethany looked up to see Kiel, who had a concerned expression on his face but his tone was insincere. She felt a strange wash of relief.

Oliver smiled and turned to face Kiel. "As long as you never do that again, it's alright."

Kiel clenched his jaw but didn't say anything as he sat down a few seats away, placing his tray of food down. Bethany turned back to Oliver, who was still rubbing his ankle.

"What happened?" she asked.

"He accidentally stepped on the back of my ankle when he was walking to his seat. I'm sure it was just an honest mistake, though."

Bethany nodded. That made sense. She looked over at Kiel, who was staring at her from across the table. She stared back for a second before shaking her head and looking away.

She missed his company, but she knew it was for the best that they weren't friends. She knew that he wasn't a criminal, but he had lied about being German, which was what he claimed so convincingly to be. It was wrong to lie about things like that. It was something she'd never seen coming. She still didn't understand what made him do it, but then again, she assumed she never would.

* * *

 _Your eyes, they shine so bright. I want to save their light. I can't escape this now, unless you show me how . . ."_


	13. Bethany's Mistake

_**Love It If We Made It (by The 1975)**_

" _And I'd love it if we made it. Yes, I'd love it if we made it . . ."_

* * *

Kiel sank deeper into the shadows, crouching low behind a few bushes as he waited with growing impatience. The night was quiet and still, barely a noise to be heard besides Kiel's shallow breathing.

He had been crouched here for about an hour, just waiting for the right moment. It was nighttime, and the sun had descended into the horizon a few hours ago. Given that it was difficult to see anything at this time of day, it was the perfect time to sneak around.

It was what Kiel had been desperately craving. He needed to _do_ something, not wait. And he'd waited long enough, nearly three weeks for this.

Finally, a dark figure appeared in front of the house he'd been watching, then looked left and right before opening the door. Kiel leaned forward on his toes, digging his hands into the cold snow. Inside the house, the lights on the bottom level flickered on. Kiel held his breath, checked his own surroundings, then started walking across the backyard to the house's largest window.

After he came home from school, Kiel had rummaged through his spell book, looking for the best tracking spell he could find. _The Illumination of Location_ , as it was called. Once he found it, he cast it, picturing Oliver Bines' face in his mind. To his surprise, the location spell had not only worked, but it also led him straight to the house Oliver had been staying at. Kiel suspected it wasn't actually his house, and the unfortunate people who lived there were most likely on vacation.

He would've been lying if he said he hadn't felt great satisfaction from stepping, quite forcefully, on Oliver's ankle this morning. As he was walking to his seat, he had heard snippets of Bethany and Oliver's conversation. Once he brought up her father, who Bethany assumed was dead, Kiel had had it. That was _enough_. Before Oliver could say anything else to ruin their lives, Kiel didn't think as he purposelessly stepped on his ankle, just for the fun of it.

He knew Oliver might attempt to beat him up later for it, but he was sick of this boy hanging around, almost like a pesticide. Oliver had been here _long enough_ , and he'd ripped Bethany's trust from Kiel. Oliver was only here because of Nobody, and clearly, Nobody wasn't giving up with his evil plans. Oliver needed to leave. Tonight.

Earlier that afternoon, right as the sun set, Kiel followed the path of his location spell and found himself in the backyard of a house. It was there that he devised a plan, although his plan could hardly be called a _plan_. It only included the goal of casting a forget spell on Oliver, then getting his spell back and using that to send Oliver back to his world.

Since he was the one breaking into Oliver's house, he figured everything would go smoothly. Once Kiel got ahold of Oliver, this would all be over in moments, with or without magic. He wasn't worried about his plan backfiring. His plans always worked, and even if everything went sour, they _always_ ending up working in his favor. There was _no_ way Oliver would see this coming.

"I think it's time for a forget spell," Kiel said under his breath, a mischievous smile growing on his face as he crept up beside the window. He placed both hands on the bottom of the window, then slowly rolled it up. Kicking the snow off his shoes, he heaved himself onto the window ledge and landed gracefully on the floor of the house.

He allowed himself a second to look around. He had climbed into a small room with a desk and a bookcase in the corner. He slid his wand-knives out of their holsters, then stepped out into the hallway. The hallway was fairly bright, which gave Kiel a disadvantage. He assured himself that Oliver was the only one with the disadvantage. He'd be the only one losing his memories, after all.

Then, he heard a small grunt behind him. Kiel whipped around, wand-knives raised and ready to cast a spell at a moment's notice. Instead, he saw Elijah on the floor of the same window he'd just entered from.

Kiel's eyes widened, and he walked over as quietly as he could. "Elijah," he whispered in an annoyed tone. "You were _following_ me?"

Elijah brushed some snow off his pants and pushed himself off the ground, stumbling a bit. "For once, don't be an idiot. I know what you're planning. You've had that crazy glint in your eye ever since you got back from school. You're going after that Oliver boy without me, Kiel."

Kiel sighed. "You shouldn't have come. It's a lot easier to do fights without others getting in my way."

The man gave him a look. "You need my help and you know it. Last time you tried fighting Oliver, he choked you. Stop acting like you're the only one who can do anything. You can't, not against someone this strong."

"I'm not acting like that," Kiel shot back. "I'm just _sick_ of Oliver hanging around. I need to get rid of him, and —"

"And you think you know what's good for everyone else," Elijah finished, his voice quiet. "I want to help. Let me! You can do your crazy magic, but if it doesn't work, I want to be there to back you up."

Kiel glanced towards the hallway, then nodded. "Alright. I'm going to cast a forget spell on him, and then I'll get my spell back. Should be easy." He grinned a little bit. "I'll just have to soldier on through this fight and hope that my natural talent and intelligence is enough to outwit Oliver."

Elijah snorted. "You _are_ crazy. What intelligence and talent are you talking about?"

Kiel rolled his eyes. "I have those things and you know it." He turned his hands around, looking down at his wand-knives. He glanced back at Elijah. "It feels good to fight with magic again. There's no way we'll loose this time."

Elijah uneasily smiled back, then gestured towards the room's exit. "Let's just go. The sooner we get rid of Oliver, the better."

The boy magician held up his wand-knives out in front of him, quietly creeping into the hallway again. He didn't hear any noises except for some soft classical music playing in a nearby room, which kept him slightly on edge.

Behind him, Elijah followed, although given the fact that he was much bigger than Kiel, he wasn't as skilled with sneaking around. Every few seconds, Elijah would step soundly on the floor, and Kiel would flinch, expecting Oliver to appear at any moment. For some reason, he didn't.

As they rounded the corner, they entered the living room, which had several cushioned chairs and a TV in the corner. Kiel started to walk closer, then saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head towards it, then gasped.

It was his spell, framed to the wall like some kind of painting! Forgetting everything else, Kiel strode across the room and looked up at it, feeling disgusted. He stood on his toes, trying to reach it. Despite being shorter than Kiel, Oliver had somehow managed to place the spell several feet out of Kiel's reach. The walls were also very tall, which was another thing that added difficulty to this.

"Kiel!" Elijah shouted suddenly, standing at the other side of the room. "Watch out!"

Kiel only had a moment to look back in surprise before something knocked the wind out of him, sending him falling across the floor. He groaned loudly, clutching his still-healing ribs. Laughter filled his ears.

"I figured you would come," Oliver said, smiling coldly as he stood over Kiel. "Are you here for a rematch? You know _exactly_ how well that ended last time." He glanced at the other side of the room. "And I see you've brought a friend. What, you think you can beat me?"

Kiel raised his eyebrows, masking his pain with a forced grin. "I think we have a better chance against you, now that you mention it. Clearly, you didn't see how amazing all of my talents were. Any other day and I would've beat you, fair and square. You only caught me off-guard."

Oliver stepped closer. "I don't think I did, Kiel," he said, causing a shiver to run down Kiel's spine. "I think you're just _weak_ , and you weren't expecting to be shown otherwise."

"Don't listen to him, Kiel!" Elijah shouted, walking closer with a guarded stance.

That was enough! "Are you expecting _this_?" Kiel aimed his wand-knives at Oliver and mumbled a spell. Instantly, lightning launched from the tips of the wands, hurtling straight towards the boy. Oliver's eyes widened, and he threw himself to the side, landing on one of the chairs. Some of the lighting had managed to hit him, and Oliver frantically patted at his sizzling clothes and hair.

Kiel quickly stood up, pointing his wand-knives directly at Oliver. From the other side of the room, Elijah rushed over to stand next to Kiel. The two backed away from Oliver, who was scrambling to his feet. He observed the two of them, fire in his eyes. "If you're trying to ambush me, you'll never be successful. You think you'll defeat me, two against one?" He chuckled. "You won't. Nobody has made sure of it."

"Nobody is a liar," Kiel said. "You shouldn't be listening to him, whatever he's paying you with. It's not too late to give up, you know. Stop separating Bethany from me, and you'll find that the fictional world will be better off."

"He's right," Elijah said. "We're all from the same world. Our world will get destroyed if Bethany is not rejoined."

Oliver stared at them for a moment, then sneered. "I could care _less_ about that."

"Good," Kiel said, tilting his head. "If you don't care, then stop working for Nobody. Stop trying to stop my plans. You'll definitely be doing me a favor." He aimed both wand-knives at him, just in case. "Who are you really?"

The boy didn't move. "My name is Oliver Bines. I don't use a fake name, unlike you, Kiel Gnomenfoot."

"If you don't have a popular book series, maybe," Kiel said, winking at him. "I've never even _heard_ of an Oliver Bines book series. It's a shame you don't have any fans, unlike me who has _millions_."

Elijah grinned, nudging Kiel as they watched Oliver grow angrier. He balled his hands into fists. "Book series? What are you talking about?"

"Nobody didn't tell you?" Kiel asked, feeling more confident by the second. He stepped closer to Oliver. "I learned the same thing a couple of years ago. I'm a fictional character, and so are you! You're not as smart as you think you are."

"ENOUGH!" Oliver shouted, silencing Kiel. "I see what you're doing. I've observed you for a long time now. I know your tricks, and I know what you're thinking. You're trying to distract me by talking. That's your signature move, isn't it? Once I'm distracted, your plan is to get your spell back, then use it to send me away."

Next to Kiel, Elijah gasped. "How did you know all of that?"

Oliver looked pleased with himself. "I'm a highly intelligent world class tracker and murderer. In this case, I haven't been ordered to murder any subjects." He made a face. "Pity. Just by observing you, I can easily decipher your next moves, your thoughts, and your emotions. Judging from the way you're standing, Kiel's friend —"

"Elijah," Elijah interrupted.

"Is planning to grab the spell, but not until Kiel has cast a forget spell on me." He narrowed his eyes at them. "Nobody has chosen me for a reason: I know everything, and there's no way to beat me."

Kiel cursed himself for not thinking this could happen. When it came to dangerous situations, he normally thought things through — at least for a second — before fearlessly jumping into a fight. He had no qualms about putting himself in danger, but his success depended on defeating Oliver. He _would_ defeat him, he'd just do it differently.

Before anyone could say anything, Kiel tightened his grip around his wand-knives and murmured a spell. At the same time as the spell hit, Oliver managed to dodge it with superhuman speed. Kiel gritted his teeth, then cast a ice spell on the ground beneath Oliver's feet, which made it incredibly slippery. With a surprised shout, Oliver slipped and fell to the floor.

As soon as he tried getting back up, Kiel cast another spell, which made Oliver immobile, aside from his eyes. He made a growling noise as his eyes focused on Kiel, glaring daggers at him.

Elijah laughed, slapping Kiel on the back. "Kiel, you did it!"

Kiel started to grin, marveling at his incredible talents, but then he realized something was wrong, _very_ wrong. When under this spell, the recipient was completely unable to move. Although they were slow movements, Oliver was starting to move. First, his arms twitched. Then, his legs moved. With each movement, Oliver was gaining speed. Soon, he'd be free of the spell.

"This doesn't normally happen," Kiel whispered to Elijah. Fear washed over him, a feeling that was foreign and unreal. He wasn't used to being afraid.

With wide eyes, he watched as Oliver lifted a hand with ease, then used it to pull himself up into a sitting position. Before he could get anywhere, Kiel lunged towards him, bending down and hooking his arms around the boy's neck. Oliver made another growling sound, and then — to Kiel's growing horror — began fighting back with enormous strength. Kiel held him as tight as he could, grunting from the effort of holding Oliver down.

"Elijah!" Kiel cried, Oliver's fingernails crawling at him with an unusual strength as he held tightly him in a headlock. "Get the spell!"

"Getting it!" Elijah said, hurrying over to where the spell hung on the wall. Since he was tall, he could easily see it. "I'm going to recite it. Is that what you want?"

"Yes!" the boy magician gasped as Oliver thrashed around. He leaned his body partly on top of him, attempting to hold him steady.

Out of the corner of his vision, Kiel saw Elijah standing in front of the wall. As he began reciting the spell, Oliver thrashed around more violently, sending various blows to Kiel's body as he struggled. Elijah was nearly done reciting the spell when Oliver managed to break his arm free and elbowed Kiel in the chest. Kiel stumbled back from the impact, his grip on Oliver faltering.

Before he knew it, Elijah had finished the spell. For a moment, the three stopped moving, listening for any indication that the spell had worked. Then the ground shifted and a low, humming noise filled the room. A few feet away from where Elijah stood, a large force field of energy appeared, humming and vibrating with power. The force field of energy shifted and re-formed into a circle that closely resembled a portal.

Everything sped up. Oliver threw himself out of Kiel's grasp and whipped around, swinging his fist into Kiel's face. The boy magician grunted, falling to the floor from the impact.

As Kiel clutched his throbbing head, Oliver got to his feet and turned to Elijah. He quickly walked towards him, then threw his arm back and punched the man square in the chest.

Elijah gasped, clutching his chest as he backed away. Oliver grabbed him by the arms, banging him forcefully against the wall a few times. Elijah sent a well-placed kick into Oliver's stomach, sending him reeling backwards. He quickly recovered. He advanced towards Elijah, throwing a fist at him. Elijah caught him by the arm, and the two struggled against each other, breathing heavily as they shifted around the room.

Slowly, Kiel got to his feet. He decided that Elijah had it handled, at least for now. He quickly scanned the room for his wand-knives. They were several feet away, hidden halfway under a couch pillow. Just as he bent down to pick them up, he heard a grunting noise.

He looked over just in time to see Oliver and Elijah still fighting against each other, damaging several of the house's decorations. With a growl, Oliver stepped towards the direction of the portal. Without looking, he heaved Elijah off of him. The force of the push caused Elijah to stagger backward, tripping over a broken vase.

He began to fall — straight into the portal. He cried out, propelling his arms in every direction to stop his fall, but it was too late. As Elijah passed through the portal, the force field of energy seemed to glow brighter for a second, and the hissing grew louder. A split-second later, the sound dimmed, and the light returned to it's normal hue.

"No!" Kiel shouted, extending his hands in an effort to grab him. But he was already gone.

Oliver laughed, straightening up and turning to look at Kiel. "I was hoping to throw _you_ in there, but I guess putting sending both of you through there will be more efficient!"

Kiel didn't allow himself any time to think. He raised his wand-knives and recited the forget spell. The boy mustn't have been anticipating this, because he didn't react. The spell hit him dead-on, embedding itself deep into Oliver's mind. A cloud passed over his eyes. His face was wiped clean of emotion, appearing expressionless. Then, Oliver blinked, and he was not the same boy as he was a minute ago. He shook his head, his eyebrows crinkling in confusion. "Where am I?"

Kiel lowered his wand-knives. He stayed where he was. "Do you know my name?"

Oliver scanned him up and down, then frowned. There wasn't an ounce of recognition in his eyes. "I . . . I don't."

He winked. "That's good to hear." He carefully stepped over the mess they'd made in the room, then plodded over to Oliver. He pointed at the portal. "It's time for you to go home."

"Where am I?" Oliver repeated, glancing at the portal. "What is this place? I don't remember. The last thing I remember is . . . sitting in my room."

Kiel winked again. "Don't worry about it, okay? You're a terrible person. That's all you need to know." He patted him on the shoulder. "You should go home. That portal will lead you there."

Oliver eyed him suspiciously. "Why should I trust you? I don't trust anyone at their word, not even my father."

Sighing with impatience, Kiel grabbed him by the shoulders and lightly pushed him into the portal. Oliver shouted in surprise, but the noise was barely audible above the loud buzzing from the portal. He disappeared from view, vanishing into the portal. As if sensing it's cue, the portal shrunk into itself, evaporating in thin air.

Kiel stared at the spot the portal had just been, spots dancing before his eyes. He could barely process what had just happened. Everything was . . . over? Oliver was gone for good. Elijah, his only friend and company for three years, had been swept into the portal.

It was only him left. He was alone, he had survived Nobody's attempts to get rid of him, and now, all he needed to do was rejoin Bethany. But first came the hard part.

He needed to tell her the truth.

* * *

Owen woke up in a ditch, with mud caked to his hair and face, and a roaring stomachache. He opened his eyes and released a barely audible groan. Not only did his body hurt everywhere, but his mouth felt dryer than the Sahara desert. He rolled over to the side, leaning against a rock as he hacked up water. Once his coughing fit was over, he weakly sat up. For a minute, he stayed where he was, staring at the same bush in front of him and listening to the faint sound of a rushing waterfall nearby.

Then, the memory of last night hit him hard. He pushed himself to his feet, wobbling unsteadily out of the ditch. He looked to his left, then his right. Kara was gone.

Owen slowly breathed in and out, checking all his surroundings. Okay, this wasn't terrible. She had probably washed up somewhere close by. She would be okay.

He staggered in the direction of the waterfall, his feet completely encased in mud. As he walked past trees, he brushed his hands against them, using them for support. The chirping of crickets and other various insects filled his ears, loud enough to compete with the roaring of the waterfall. He broke out of the trees and entered a riverbank, where the water was flowing calmly.

Owen squatted down, cupping his hands beneath the water and splashing his face. He made a half-hearted effort to clean the patches of mud off of his face. He wiped some of the water on his clothes, as well as his shoes. Only some of it came off.

There was a small, chirping noise behind him. He froze, keeping his hands in place from where they'd been cleaning his shoes. What now? More trouble?

He heard the noise again and whipped around, yelling at the top of his lungs to scare whatever it was away. What he found was the tiniest, _cutest_ dinosaur he'd ever seen. It was standing on a rock, it's eyes staring into Owen's and it's head tilted, as if it was confused.

Owen's smile became a life of it's own. "Aww! You are _adorable._ " He bent down, slowly extending his hand towards the dinosaur. "Can I pet you? Or adopt you? I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind."

The dinosaur stared at him for a moment, then turned it's attention to his hand. It leaned it's head closer to his hand, it's nostrils flaring as it sniffed the air.

"That's it," Owen said cheerfully. "A little closer . . ."

The dinosaur opened it's mouth, revealing sharp, jagged teeth. It lunged forward and clamped it's tiny mouth around Owen's fingers. The boy screamed, waving his arm desperately around. The dinosaur flew off of him, landing straight into the river several yards away.

Owen gasped, backing away from the river and clutching his hand. He looked down at it. There was bright red puncture marks all along three of his fingers. If it wasn't so painful, Owen would've probably marveled at how cool it looked. But it _was_ painful, so he hopped up and down, shouting in suprise. He hadn't expected that! Using his opposite arm, he mobbed the blood with his sleeve, hoping the pain would dissipate soon.

"Okay," he said once he got further into the jungle. He pulled a twig out of his hair. "There is _no_ way this day can get any—"

An earsplitting roar was heard right behind him, ruffling the leaves on the trees. Owen jumped about five feet in the air, and started to shake almost immediately. He slowly turned around, only to see a rhinoceros-looking dinosaur.

He let out a tired sigh and finished his statement. "Worse."

The dinosaur pawed at the ground with it's huge foot, spurring up heaps of dirt. It dipped it's head, then charged towards Owen. He dove to the left, landing hard on the ground and getting a face full of mud. Stupid mud! Why did it have to rain last night? Using his good hand, Owen wiped at his face and eyes, his vision slightly clouded. There was no way he'd get a chance to shower at this point.

He heard another roar, and the ground shook around him, knocking him further off balance. He threw a glance over his shoulder at the angry dinosaur, which was starting to turn back towards him. He dug his hands into the muddy earth and pushed himself to his feet. He took off at a sprint. Behind him, the dinosaur roared again, it's hot breaths licking the back of Owen's neck.

Panting, Owen ducked under a tree branch and switched directions, using his momentum to slide down a muddy hill. As he raced down, his feet slipped various times, and he nearly lost his footing. He reached the bottom and fell into a palm tree, his heart pounding rapidly. He placed both hands on the tree to steady himself, then peered up the hill he'd come down. The dinosaur raced past, clearly still believing it was chasing Owen.

Owen breathed out a sigh of relief. He leaned back against the tree and shook excess mud off his hands. He swiped the mixture of sweat and mud off his face and closed his eyes, allowing his heart rate to return to normal.

"Owen!" a voice called from somewhere in the distance. He opened his eyes and looked around, wondering if he'd imagined the voice.

The voice called his name again. Unmistakably, it was Kara's. Owen trudged in the direction he'd heard her shout, pushing tree branches and huge leaves out of the way. A soft breeze blew into Owen, much gentler compared to the storm that had come through last night. Out of all the things that could've made this day worse, at least the weather was holding up.

"Kara!" Owen called out, once he was certain he was getting closer. He listened closely for a reply, but he didn't get one. Somewhere in front of him, the trees began to rustle and shake. He heard loud footfalls, which were particularly slow.

Quickly, he ducked behind a few huge leaves. As the footfalls grew louder, he froze, not daring to move an inch. Dinosaurs could only detect movement, right? That was what _Jurassic Park_ had implied. On the other hand, the creators of that movie had never had to face actual, real life dinosaurs before. They probably didn't know what they were talking about.

Some feet away, Owen heard the creature take another step, then stop in its tracks. It sniffed the air loudly, then made a deep, earsplitting noise. Weirdly enough, it didn't sound like the roar of the T-Rex or the other huge dinosaurs. It was more like —

He lifted a shaking hand and slowly pushed the leaf down. Standing before him was a Brauchiosaurus, which Owen had only seen in _Jurassic Park_. It was one of the herbivores, and it's long neck extended to almost the full height of a tree.

Owen nearly gasped in relief. He got to his feet, feeling slightly dizzy from holding his breath. He stared up at the dinosaur, which was busy munching on some leaves on a tree. It chewed, swallowed, then looked down at Owen for a moment, as if noticing for the first time that he was there. After a few seconds of staring at each other, the dinosaur lost interest and turned back to it's leafy meal.

Behind the dinosaur, the leaves rustled nearby. Owen heard footsteps, except they weren't earth-shaking. They were very human-like. His hope surged. He skirted around the dinosaur and towards the noise, his legs carrying him faster than his mind was processing. He crashed through the trees and fell along the pathway. "Kara!"

"Owen?" Kara asked, sounding surprised. She came around the corner and pushed a leaf out of the way. She beamed. "You're okay!"

"Kara!" he shouted, grinning so hard that he thought his face might break. She was safe!

She ran straight to him, limping slightly. They collided into each other, and Owen gasped from the impact, but he didn't mind. He weaved his arms around her, holding tightly onto her and rubbing her back. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, inhaling the scent of her, which almost smelled like flowers.

Then, Kara pulled away. Owen took a step back, surveying her condition. Her leg was still bandaged, although the gauze seemed to have loosened, and it threatened to slip off. She was less dirty than Owen, but she still had a lot of dried up mud on her jumpsuit and face. Her hair was a wavy mess, and she continuously had to push her bangs out of her eyes.

She seemed to be analyzing him as well. She looked up at him. "You're covered in mud. Where did you come from?"

Owen laughed a little bit. He pointed a thumb behind him. "I woke up in a ditch near the river. And then, I got chased by a dinosaur. What about you?"

Kara shrugged. "Much of the same. I guess I woke up before you, because I couldn't find you anywhere." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "We gotta find the time watches. At this rate, the Countess might've gotten to them first."

"Don't say that," he said, shaking his head. "There's _no way_ she could've found them before us. We'll find them today. Before she does."

She forced a smile. "I appreciate your optimism, Owen. But if the Countess _does_ get to them first, she'll destroy everything. Without my time bracelet, I'm not sure how much I can do to stop her."

"We'll find them," Owen repeated with forced enthusiasm, although he felt much of the same as Kara did. He glanced around. "What direction do you think they'd be in?"

"They'd probably be farther into the jungle, away from the Time Security Agency," Kara said. "That's how the creators would've made it, so there's no way anyone can easily stumble across it. The river got us there faster, so now we have to keep traveling north."

"Which way is north?" Owen asked, squinting his eyes towards the sun. He had never really payed attention in school. Not voluntarily, at least.

Kara pointed straight ahead of them. "That way."

"Okay." He nodded. He looked sideways at her and starting walking. She took a deep breath, then followed beside him.

"This is just like what happened in _Jurassic Park_ ," Owen told her as he stepped over a large rock. "Did I ever tell you about it?"

Kara considered this for a moment, then shook her head. He smiled at the idea of teaching her another pop-culture reference. "It's a movie about dinosaurs. At one point, the group gets lost in the jungle and has to fend for themselves against the dinosaurs."

"Does the story end well?" she asked. "Do they escape?"

"Of course they do! It wouldn't be much of a story if they all died!" He left out the part that not all of the group had survived, but at least the main characters had. The main characters always survived.

" _That's_ good to hear," she said, tracing her hand along the bark of a palm tree. She looked over at him, then down at his hand. She gasped, grabbing him by the wrist and observing his injured hand. "Owen, _what happened_?"

"Oh," he said, trying to seem nonchalant. "This? I was . . . um . . ."

Kara's frown deepened. He sighed, his face burning from what he was about to say. "A dinosaur bit me. It was a really small one."

She opened her mouth to say something, then laughed. "Really?"

Owen twisted his hand out of her grasp and folded his arms across his chest. "That is _not_ funny. My fingers could've fallen off!"

She laughed again, even harder. She leaned over and clutched her stomach until tears came to her eyes. It was infectious. Owen's attempt at a serious facade crumbled, and after a moment, he was cracking up too. He didn't remember until then how good it felt to laugh over nothing, even if 'nothing' meant getting your fingers bitten by the world's tiniest dinosaur.

* * *

With renewed purpose, Kiel teleported to Bethany's neighborhood, set on marching up to her front porch and telling her everything. He appeared on the sidewalk in front of her house, where a small pile of snow was shoveled to the side. Kiel slowly breathed in the frigid night air and glanced up at Bethany's window, his feet suddenly growing cold. The light in her room was on.

Kiel took another deep breath, gathering his thoughts. "Bethany," he said aloud, holding his hands up. "Since Oliver's gone forever, I need to tell you —"

He shook his head. "No, that doesn't work." He thought for a moment, then continued. "Bethany, this isn't the real you. The truth is, you were born half-fictional, with the power to jump into books." Kiel made a face. "No. That doesn't sound right."

"The reason I've been lying to you this past month is because I'm actually Kiel Gnomenfoot, and I needed to hide my identity from the nonfictional world. You're half-fictional. Well, you _were_. Past tense. I came here to rejoin you with your fictional self." He nodded to himself. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Do you have a plan for getting Bethany to Jupiter City?" a voice asked from behind Kiel.

Kiel jumped, turning around to see a normal-looking man wearing a long overcoat. Since it was dark, his features were barely visible. Kiel placed his hands on his wand-knives, squinting his eyes through the dark. "How do you know about Bethany?"

The man laughed a little bit, shaking his head. He raised his palms towards Kiel. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. No need to get defensive. I'm a friend of Bethany's father."

Kiel's eyes widened. "Wait, what? You are?"

The man nodded, walking over to Kiel from where he'd been leaning against his car. "My name is Murray Chase. And you're Kiel Gnomenfoot. I've heard about you." Kiel watched, backing away from the man as he took a seat on the curb. Murray patted the spot next to him. "I'm sure you have many questions."

Warily, Kiel sat next to him. He figured that he should ignore the man and talk to Bethany. She needed to rejoin herself. And he really should find Owen. It wouldn't do to postpone this, but he didn't have much of a choice. "How do you know Bethany's father? Are you a superhero, just like Doc Twilight is?"

Murray laughed again. "Me, a superhero? No, of course not. I'm the artist of the _Doc Twilight_ comic books."

"Comic book?" Kiel repeated. He wracked his brain for the definition. He remembered Owen showing him some, but the memory was foggy. "Those are the thin books with pictures, right?"

"Right," Murray confirmed. "When Christian — Bethany's father — came into this world, he and his wife talked to me and the author of the Doc Twilight comics, Mason Black. I was really thrilled to meet him. We became fast friends." He stretched out his feet, his eyes drifting to the ground. "Things went downhill after Bethany was born. She told you about her fourth birthday party, right?"

Kiel nodded.

"That was the night Christian returned to the fictional world, but not as himself. Nobody used him, turning him into the villain of his story. Because of Nobody, he lost his memories. He turned into a villain called the Dark." Murray took a deep breath. "After that, I dressed up as Doc Twilight and tried getting rid of the Dark. I thought that maybe I could convince him to change back . . . somehow. I didn't realize it, but Bethany and that friend of hers, Owen, followed me through the portal. They thought I was the real Doc Twilight. When Bethany realized that the _Dark_ was her father, not me, she used her powers to transform into light. She defeated the Dark, and Christian turned back to his real self."

Kiel nodded, recognizing this story. "Gwen told me about this. My friend Charm gave her those powers." He looked at the man. "So how exactly did Bethany split into two halves?"

Murray sighed. "I'm not exactly sure. But I know it was Nobody. Right after Bethany saved us all, he returned me back to my own world before I could stop him."

"Nobody definitely likes to ruin our lives," Kiel murmured.

"I've wanted to stop him," Murray quietly responded. "But I'm only a comic book artist. I don't have the skills to do that." He glanced back at Bethany's house. "I've been worried about her, and about the fictional world. She can't keep going on like this, existing as only half a person."

"You're right, she can't," Kiel agreed. "Which is why I need to talk to her. She doesn't remember anything about her life when she was half-fictional. Before I rejoin her, I have to convince her to come with me."

Murray smiled. "Good luck. You're going to need it." He stood up, brushing off his pants. "My house is at Ditko Drive. It's a few neighborhoods past here. It's a tall, thin house squished between two normal-sized buildings. You can't miss it. If you come during the day, I usually leave the door unlocked since I'm working at home. In my basement, there's a portal that'll take you to Jupiter City. Once you have Bethany, you can come over to my house and enter Jupiter City that way, since she doesn't have her powers anymore."

Kiel grinned without even knowing it. "That was helpful of you. _Thank you."_

Murray smiled back. "Don't thank me just yet. It's all I can do to help." He started walking away, back to his car.

Kiel rose from the curb. "Um, Mr. Chase?"

He turned back. "What's up?"

"How come Bethany never knew about you? If you were a friend of her father, why didn't you talk to her before she followed you into Jupiter City?"

The man sighed, rubbing a hand across his forehead. "I wanted to, but me and her mother had an agreement. I wasn't supposed to encourage Bethany in her fictional . . . tendencies. After her fourth birthday party, her mother asked me to give them space. We remained friends without telling Bethany. For years, I've been watching her. Only recently did I find out she'd been jumping into books against her mother's wishes. It was too late to do anything about it, anyway. By that time, Bethany was split in two, and she didn't remember anything about that."

"I get it," Kiel said, although the whole situation confused him a little bit. It bothered him that there was so much he didn't know. "Don't worry, Mr. Chase. Bethany will be rejoined in no time."

"Glad to hear it," Murray replied, opening his car door. He swung into his seat. "See you later, Kiel. Be safe."

Kiel nodded assuringly, sending the man a wink. "I'm always safe."

He watched as Murray started up the car and drove away, the car's tires squeaking against the pavement. Kiel let out a breath, feeling suddenly lightheaded. He turned back towards Bethany's house, ready to deliver his speech of truth. Then, he noticed that all of the lights in the house were off.

"Okay, tomorrow it is," Kiel whispered, staring at Bethany's dark room. He felt disappointed, but he told himself that it was for the best. So many things had happened tonight, and he needed at least a good night's rest before he talked to Bethany.

* * *

On all ten of his fingers, Owen could count the things that had gone bad within the past twenty-four hours. As he and Kara trudged through the hot jungle in search of the time watches, Owen amused himself by making a list in his head. He vaguely remembered making a list when he was in Mr. Barberry's math class, which was about all of the boring things he had to endure. Oh, how he missed the boring, yet safe nonfictional world.

OWEN'S LIST OF BAD THINGS

1\. The dinosaurs breaking out of their cages, ultimately destroying the Time Security Agency.

2\. His anxiety and fear, which sparked from #1.

3\. The Countess. That didn't need an explanation.

4\. Almost drowning in the river rapids.

5\. Seeing that man who'd been dying.

6\. Nearly getting eaten by dinosaurs. Again.

7\. There was no food or water nearby.

8\. He escaped the Time Security Agency, but he was now surrounded by dinosaurs at all times.

9\. They had a short amount of time to find the time watches. If the Countess got there first, either Owen or Kara would watch the other die. He couldn't face watching Kara die.

10\. The ever-present threat of Nobody getting to Bethany first and destroying the fictional and nonfictional worlds, which was the worst thing out of any of this.

After he made this mental list, he sighed. Maybe he should make a list of good things, just to even it out?

OWEN'S LIST OF GOOD THINGS

1\. Kara was with him, and she was safe.

2\. Somehow, he survived the traumatizing events of last night.

3.

Okay, so maybe there _weren't_ enough good things. But Owen had high hopes that him and Kara would find the time watches before the Countess did. They had to! His life depended on it, and so did Kara's as well as Bethany's. He was in the fictional world, after all. Although bad things happened to main characters, they tended not to die.

Unless the main character happened to be Kiel Gnomenfoot in _Kiel Gnomenfoot and the Source of Magic_ , but Jonathan Porterhouse had changed the ending so that Kiel would live. Owen also remembered a book called _Divergent_ , where the main character died. He hadn't read it, but he heard that it was a tear-jerker.

Either way, his life wouldn't end this way. He knew it wouldn't.

Owen was pulled out of his thoughts by a familiar noise. He perked his head up at the sound of footfalls. His eyes widened, and he shared an uneasy look with Kara. Slowly, they turned around. Slightly hidden by the trees, a pack of velociraptors were approaching. They tilted their heads at Owen and Kara, making chirping noises to each other. Then, without warning, the velociraptors tore out of the underbrush and darted towards them.

"Time to move!" Kara shouted, pulling Owen along the path. They sprinted as fast as they could, jumping over tree roots, rocks, and streams. On either side of them, the velociraptors matched their pace with ease as they tore through the jungle. One of them leaped at Owen in midrun, it's mouth opened wide.

"Duck!" Owen cried, grabbing Kara's hand and yanking her with him to the ground. The dinosaur sailed right over them, it's mouth clamping shut right where Owen had been. They didn't wait for the dinosaur to recover. Both of them leapt from their spots on the ground and took off at a run.

The other velociraptors made various chirping noises to each other as they followed close behind. It was unsettling to know they were communicating with each other, probably strategizing the best way to catch Owen and Kara.

The two continued running until they crashed out of the trees and into a clearing. They gradually stopped running, only to catch their breath for a moment. Sunlight filled Owen's vision, and he squinted, holding a hand above his eyes as he looked for a place to go. In front of them, tons of dinosaurs wandered around. They all looked to be herbivores, which was a relief. Some were as tall as trees, and others weren't much bigger than a horse. They didn't look Owen or Kara's way, instead paying attention to only themselves.

"It's a dead-end," Kara said, and Owen saw that she was right. At the opposite end of the huge field that the dinosaurs were on, a volcano loomed before them. It appeared to be inactive. It was tall and as wide as a mountain, with a steep, slanted slope. There wasn't anywhere to run, only forward or backward. Behind them was the jungle, which was where the velociraptors had been chasing them.

"What should we do?" Owen whispered. His thoughts were answered as the pack of velociraptors appeared right behind Owen and Kara, darting out of the trees at a fast pace.

"I'll take the volcano," Kara said, grabbing his hand. Not liking his chances, Owen sprinted along with her. He could tell that the velociraptors were giving chase, but they seemed to be holding back because of the dozens of other dinosaurs nearby. As they became surrounded by herbivorous dinosaurs on all sides, the velociraptors fell back, seemingly giving up on their hunt.

Owen grinned at their luck. Still running, he tapped Kara's shoulder. "Look, they're leaving!"

Kara turned around and stuck her tongue out at them. "See you never, stupid dinosaurs!" she shouted.

He laughed as she turned back around. They fell into a walk as they journeyed the rest of the way across the field. Owen could hardly stop staring at all of the dinosaurs around him, which were gentle and harmless compared to carnivores he'd encountered. He wanted so badly to reach out and touch one, but he restrained himself.

After what seemed like an hour later, they finally made it to the other side of the field. The volcano was huge from far away, but it was even bigger up close. It took a pyramid-like shape, and it was coated with uneven rocks and gravel.

He glanced at Kara, who was staring intently at the volcano. "There's no other way around," she said finally, after observing it for a few minutes. "We'll have to climb it. The time watches must be right behind it, or maybe even inside it. They _must_ be."

"Seriously?" Owen asked, throwing his hands up. "You've _got_ to be kidding me. There has to be another way, right?"

She shook her head, giving him a half smile. "There isn't. C'mon, don't you want to say 'I've climbed a volcano' to your friends back home?"

"No one would believe me," he replied, shrugging. That, and he didn't have too many friends to begin with. And majority of them, if not all, were fictional.

Owen walked up to the bottom of the volcano and took a deep breath, sending a nod Kara's way. Together, they began walking up the volcano. It was incredibly steep, and the loose gravel and rocks made it easy to slip. He dug his feet deep into the terrain, heaving himself upward with as much strength as he could muster. He stared at his feet the entire time, not trusting himself to look at anything else. He didn't bother looking at Kara, or at the ground, because he knew that would only distract him. He really _didn't_ want to fall, especially when falling could lead to death.

The volcano seemed to be impossibly tall, and Owen found himself growing more and more tired. He wasn't sure how long they'd been climbing when the sky began to darken.

"It's almost sunset," Kara warned. That was enough to propel Owen forward. He forced himself to use what remaining energy he had to climb the slippery mountain. He trained his eyes at the ground beneath him, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other.

Breathing heavily, they made it to the top and regained their footing on the rocky surface of the volcano. Kara's hand brushed against his — intentional or not, Owen didn't know — and for a few seconds the two of them just stood there, staring out at the golden horizon and the green jungle below. For a second, he imagined what it would be like if he wasn't in any hurry. If Nobody wasn't about to separate the two worlds, and him and Kara were simply having a fun adventure. It would be better if he had Bethany and Kiel and Charm with him, of course, but somehow it felt nice to have Kara here too.

Completely exhausted, Owen plopped down on the surface of the volcano, running his hand along the dark gravel. Kara wiped her hands over her face and slowly sat down beside him. For a few minutes, they sat in silence, too tired to say anything.

Owen gazed at the beautiful scenery before him and wondered if he'd ever have the chance to go to a place like this in real life. Before coming here, he had never even been to a jungle, much less a prehistoric one. His mother had promised one day that she'd take him somewhere on vacation. Wherever that would be, he hoped the view was similar to this. Despite being fictional, it was captivating.

"I'm not mad at you for being here, in the time prison. I'm the opposite, really. I'm glad."

"You are?" Owen's eyes snapped up in surprise, and he turned to look at her. She was staring at the horizon, strands of her pink hair flying in the gentle breeze. He traced the outline of the side of her face, burning it into his memory.

"Of course," Kara replied, looking over at him with a smile. "You're all I have left."

"Right now, you're all I have left, too," Owen said softly, surprising himself. Acting on impulse, he put his hand on top of her's. Her hand was soft and slightly warm, with traces of dirt on it. She turned her hand over and interlocked her fingers through his. He felt electricity go through him, up from his hand and into his body. This time, the feeling wasn't coming from his time powers. He shivered.

"Are you cold?" she asked.

"No," Owen whispered. He stared at the rocky terrain, picking off pieces of gravel with his other hand. "We're in a jungle, Kara. How could it be cold?"

Kara laughed. "Just wondering. It get's cooler at night."

"Kara?"

"Hmm?"

He felt her eyes on him, and heat rose to his cheeks. He wanted to tell her something, but what came out of his mouth was entirely different. "Will you go with me?"

"What?" Kara asked.

Owen didn't meet her gaze. He hoped she couldn't tell how red his face was getting. "Sorry, that came out wrong. I-I was just thinking . . . maybe you should come with me when I get out of here. You should come to my world."

"The nonfictional world?" Kara shook her head over and over. "Owen, I told you I'm not leaving this prison. I'm not leaving. I _can't_ go with you. I would be messing up the timelines, and I don't want to think about what might happen to the world if I leave."

"That's not true. You won't mess up the timelines," Owen interjected, turning his head towards her. "Come with me. Please, Kara. I don't think you'll regret it. I want you to."

Kara stared at him for a moment longer, then leaned in. He froze like a deer in headlights. Every instinct told him to back away, but he found himself unable to. Instead of what he initially thought, however, he felt her soft lips press against his cheek. It sent a shiver down his spine. As slow-motion as the moment seemed, everything sped up to it's normal time again as Kara pulled away, smiling bashfully.

He looked away, blushing as bright as the sun. The spot she had kissed him was now pulsing with energy, and Owen had to restrain himself from reaching up and touching his cheek. He didn't know what to say, so he stared into the sky, trying very hard not to notice Kara's hand in his sweaty one, or the way she had smiled just now. A new thought came to mind. Did she like him? The idea was shocking. He couldn't imagine any girl liking him, or not being grossed out by him. That's how it always was. He had crushes on many girls, of course, but never had a girl reciprocated those feelings . . . much less showed affection towards him.

Or maybe Owen was overthinking this. That was probably it. How could she like him, anyway? He always messed everything up! He wasn't even helpful when it came to saving his friends or stopping evil. He was a twelve year-old kid — probably a little _too_ skinny, as his mother said — who was obsessed with books and could hardly be considered charming compared to his best friend Kiel. He was decent looking, to put it one way. He wasn't exactly the type of boy who girls crushed on and fought over. And then there was his personality, which often got other people annoyed.

Despite everything he was thinking, a grin formed on his face. A girl had kissed him. _Him_! On the cheek! And that girl wasn't Charm. Instead, it was Kara. Somehow, this knowledge made him feel fuzzy inside, and he didn't have an ounce of guilt.

* * *

As Bethany pulled herself out of her chair, she looked at the time and was surprised to see it was 6:30, nearly 7:00. She sighed, scolding herself for not getting home yet. Why had she stayed so long? The library had always been a place for her to relax and read, and since it was only a ten minute walk from her house, it didn't stress Bethany too much about being home on time. Today was different, because she hadn't eaten dinner yet. Hopefully, her mother wouldn't be home early today.

Liz had walked to the library with her to do homework, but she had left two hours ago. Bethany had finished her own homework around the same time that Liz left, and afterward she was absorbed in _Pick The Plot_. She hadn't realized how long she had been reading, nor did she notice the darkening sky outside.

As Bethany walked towards the door, she looked across an isle and spotted none other than Kiel. He was sitting on the floor, leaning against a bookcase as he flipped through what looked like a mystery novel. Bethany walked over to him, crossing her arms. He wasn't following her again, was he? "What are you doing here?"

Kiel jumped, then quickly looked over at her. He visibly relaxed, throwing her a wink. "The usual. Being awesome _and_ reading while doing it."

"Reading?" Bethany was surprised, to say the least. She never imagined him as the type of person who read books for fun.

He rolled his eyes, then smiled. "Don't act surprised, Beth. You're not the only person who reads books."

"I know that," she said, fighting the urge to roll her _own_ eyes. She uncrossed her arms, letting them fall at her sides. After hardly talking to him for the past two weeks due to all the events that took place, it felt weird to talk to him. They weren't friends anymore, but it still was nice to talk to him sometimes in class. She missed him more than she wanted to admit. "Thank you for the Christmas gift, by the way. I was going to tell you earlier, but . . ."

"But what?"

Bethany bit her lip, looking away at the rows of books that lined the shelves. "Nothing."

"Your welcome," he said, drawling her attention back to him. He was smiling. "I know you'll like it. _Kiel Gnomenfoot_ is the greatest book series of all time."

She smiled, then laughed a little, shaking her head. "It's definitely not."

Ignoring her statement, Kiel stood up, gingerly placing the book back into it's rightful spot. "I actually didn't only come here to read. There's something I want to tell you. It's important."

Bethany frowned, feeling slightly anxious at his words. "What is it?"

"I'll tell you once we're outside," he said, gesturing to the door. He started walking to the exit, and she followed beside him. She pushed open the door, holding it for him before they started across the sidewalk. They walked along the sidewalk for a full minute, neither saying a word.

"Weren't you going to tell me something?" Bethany asked, looking over at him. She dug her hands into her pockets, trying to reduce the clammy sensation that formed in her palms.

Kiel let out a breath, then stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. She did too. He stared at her, looking suddenly serious. "I've been waiting to tell you this, saving it for the right moment — but I realized that there isn't any point in waiting for the 'right moment'. The thing is . . . there's a part of your life that I came here to fix. You don't remember, because you lost the majority of your memories. But the truth is, up until three years ago you were a half-fictional girl."

There was a pause, before his words spilled out like the water flowing over a waterfall. They burst from him abruptly, as if they'd been bottled up so long and now they were finally free to be said. His voice was raw with emotion, and his face was expressive.

"Bethany, you were born with the power to jump into books. You could travel between the fictional and nonfictional worlds. You did this for fun, but mostly you did this to find your father. Your father is a fictional character, and he's been missing since your fifth birthday. Finding him has been your priority for your entire life. You were looking for him with me, and this other boy named Owen. We jumped into books together, until something bad happened, and this villain named Nobody showed up. He separated you into two halves: your fictional half and your nonfictional half. The half that you are right now is nonfictional. Now you don't remember anything about the fictional world and your half-fictional life. That's why you don't remember me, either. Because my real name is Kiel Gnomenfoot. I'm a fictional character, though I'd prefer not to go by the term 'fictional'. I don't like to think of myself as unreal."

He let out a small laugh. "The bad part is, Nobody separated you because he has this plan to take over the fictional world, and now he's destroying it. I want you to come with me, Bethany. We're going to find your fictional self. I can do all the hard work, and then when we get somewhere safe, you can rejoin with your fictional self. If you reunite with your fictional self, you'll get your memories back _and_ you'll be able to prevent the fictional world from dying."

Bethany was so taken aback at first that she couldn't even respond. She stared wordlessly at Kiel, who's eyes shined with emotion. He took a deep breath. "I know that was all a lot to take in. But I had to tell you sooner rather than later. At some point I had to, and I figured now that Oliver is gone that this would be the best chance I'll get." Then he winked.

He smiled hesitantly. "It hurts to lie about my life to you, but I couldn't afford to lose you before you even gave me a chance. Lying about being German wasn't easy, but it feels good to finally get all of it out. Now everything can go back to normal."

Bethany's eyes were wide, and her mouth hung open. Her brain was slowly comprehending all of what he was saying, and she looked at him in silence. Then, completely caught up in her emotions, she said the most horrible thing she ever could've said; something that she'd always regret until the end of time. "I hate you."

His smile vanished. Kiel stared at her with a hurt expression. "What? You . . . hate me? Listen, I'm not going to take what you're saying to heart, because I know you would never mean —"

"I _do_ mean it." Bethany felt tears prick her eyes, but she forced herself not to cry. As much as she had liked Kiel, she knew she had to do this. She was certain he was apart of some prank just to spite her, to make fun of her love for books and all things fictional. He was good-hearted and fun, but that could all be a facade. And this confirmed it.

The fact that he told her that she herself was a girl with the power to jump into books was painful to hear, because all her life she'd dreamed of being fictional or of traveling into books. And then he'd gone along and told her he was a fictional character named Kiel Gnomenfoot! The thing was — fictional people weren't real. They just weren't. Neither were superhuman abilities. It was rude of him to even suggest that to her, of all people. As if she would ever believe him!

She knew that she needed to let him go, because maybe the craziest part out of all of this was that he sounded like he genuinely believed what he was telling her. He was insane, crazy, and ridiculous. All of the above.

"Why?" Kiel asked, his voice cracking. He looked so pained, but Bethany felt too hurt and angry to notice the extent of his pain.

"For one thing, what makes you think you can make up stories about my life? About me having powers and you — you're pretending you're a fictional character named Kiel Gnomenfoot. This is just ridiculous. You've lost your mind! Think about it! You just talked about yourself as if you were fictional —"

"But I am!" Kiel interrupted, his voice slightly hoarse. "You need to calm down and listen to what I'm saying. Before you got separated, me, you, and Owen jumped into books. For _months_ we jumped into books to search for your father. Your fictional self is with him now! She didn't really believe me either, but she definitely wasn't overreacting like you are now. The only way you'll believe me is if I show you. Come on, we need to go to your dad's world and —" He grabbed her hand and started to pull her away, but she ripped it out of his grasp.

"Kiel, _stop,_ " Bethany growled. _"_ First of all, my dad isn't alive! How would you know otherwise? I was there, and I _saw_ him die!" She took a deep breath, trying to grab hold of her thoughts. "And I'm not going to follow you anywhere, if that's what you think."

"That's not true," Kiel said, shaking his head. "Your father is in the fictional world. I know exactly where he is. Your fictional self is with him, too."

Why was he still keeping up with this act? Bethany crossed her arms, listening to his completely honest tone. "Can you — are you _serious_? You actually believe that? This is the real world! Please just get that into your head! There are no fictional characters or worlds here! That's extremely low, to try and convince me I'm a half-fictional girl who needs to save the fictional world from some evil No-One —"

"Nobody."

She glared at him, her anger rising. "And since I've told you, you know that the only thing I've ever wanted to do is go to a fictional world! You said all of that just to get my hopes up. At first I thought: 'maybe he genuinely wants to be my friend!' But now I know. I knew all along that you were apart of some prank, but I didn't think you'd act so serious about it."

"It isn't a prank," Kiel protested. "Deep down, you have to know it isn't. I swear on my life that everything I told you is the truth. You don't remember anything, which is why you don't believe me." He looked down at his feet.

"I thought we were friends. Prank or not, it hurts that you'd try to convince me of something that could never happen."

"But it did happen, and it's happening right now!" Kiel said, his eyes clouding. "Just believe me! Please, Bethany. Sometimes, you need to blindly put your faith in something. I need you to believe me. At least come with me, and you'll see —"

She shook her head, feeling frustrated and guilty and sad all at once. "No, none of this is happening. I'm done with you making up lies, first about being German, then about this! I need you to stop meddling in my life. You're nothing but an annoying boy who makes up lies to try to get me to be your friend, when you could be friends with anyone else! You've embarrassed me _twice_ in class! You're the reason I overthink all the time and the reason my mind is always a mess!" Bethany didn't mean to say that last part, but it was party true. The words had just poured out of her, all sprouting from her own jumbled thoughts. She didn't even realize she had said them until it was too late.

"You don't mean it," Kiel whispered in a choked voice. He swallowed. "You don't _really_ hate me. You're just angry."

"I'm not just angry. I meant exactly what I said," Bethany continued, cringing at how horrible she was acting. But the anger was still coursing through her, and she couldn't push it away. "And we're not even friends. So I don't know why you're making fun of my love for books this way. It's rude, especially coming from you. You have no right to get my hopes up. I'm sorry Kiel, but it's the truth. Please, just . . . leave me alone."

She tried her hardest to stop her voice from wavering. She knew better than to look at Kiel, who remained silent for once, like a statue. This went on for a few minutes, long enough to make Bethany hate herself with every passing second. She hated his silence. She wished he would say something, like he usually did. She was certain that she had just made the worst mistake, but she couldn't restrain herself from speaking her mind.

"Are you going to say anything?" she asked, her voice shaking terribly. She glanced up at him, and was shocked to see tears falling from his eyes. He gave her a small, understanding smile, although she could clearly see that it was forced.

"I understand," Kiel said weakly, making an effort to wipe his eyes. "I figured that maybe I annoyed you a little, but I never thought you would . . . _hate_ me. I'll stop talking to you from now on. Sorry for telling you what was real. I'll leave you alone."

Then he turned his back on her and crossed the street, and Bethany wanted to scream for him to come back. But she knew it was too late for that. She had made the right choice by pouring out her honest feelings to him. One moment, he lied to her about himself. The next, he believed he was a fictional character. He was crazy. By sending him away, this would solve all of the confusion Bethany had been feeling lately. Even still, she was left with the heavy ache of guilt in her heart.

Wiping her eyes, Bethany trudged across the sidewalk, trying to forget this whole night ever happened as she set off home. The walk home was excruciatingly silent, and the ten minutes seemed to bleed into days. There was no one around her, and only a few cars drove down the road at this time of night. She tried to let Kiel go, to tell herself that she'd done the right thing by ending their friendship, but she couldn't push his last words away. They echoed in her mind for the rest of the night while she sobbed the whole way home, while she silently picked at her food during dinner, and while she cried herself to sleep.

Deep down, Bethany wanted to believe Kiel. She wanted him to take her hand and lead her to the fictional world, to reunite with her other self to save a world from an evil villain. All her years of reading stories and loving them had finally seemed to make sense. But she couldn't, because she knew that unfortunately it could never be true, no matter how much she wished that she could visit a fictional world. It was idiotic of her to even believe him for a split second. And now that she had gone overboard and yelled at him, he was never going to talk to her again. That wasn't a problem, though. Clearly he was crazy, and she knew that she had made the right decision by letting him go.

Wasn't that what she wanted?

* * *

" _Yes, I'd love it if we made it . . ."_


	14. January Blues

_**New (by Daya)**_

" _Thought I'd be better without you. I can't stop thinking about you . . ."_

* * *

Slow.

A week after the incident, that was how everything felt. She was slow to wake up, slow to get dressed, slow to do homework. Even time itself seemed to move at a sluggish pace.

The morning after her fight with Kiel, Bethany had woken up in a foggy daze, her eyes bloodshot and a sensation of her chest being squeezed. She didn't find the willpower to drag herself out of bed, and instead, after some convincing to her mother, was allowed to stay home for the day. The next day was much of the same, and Bethany had weakly requested that she stay home. She woke up the same way for the days that followed, and she stayed home for those days, too.

She sunk into despair.

Her mother assumed that she was sick. Often, Bethany felt like she _was_ sick. She hardly left her room except for bathroom trips and meals. She hadn't even ventured outside for fresh air. By the fifth day of her 'sickness', she knew that her mother was worried. She insisted that Bethany go to a doctor, but Bethany disagreed. Although she felt physically exhausted, she knew it wasn't from sickness. It was from something different, and much, much worse.

Bethany felt drained. That was the only word to describe it. Besides her mother, she hadn't talked to a single person. She knew these feelings weren't healthy, but she had dug herself into a deep, dark hole, and now there was no escape. She didn't want to face anyone, not Liz, and _especially_ not Kiel. She didn't know how to face anyone after what had happened.

If she saw Kiel . . . what would she say? Would she be able to say anything at all? Would he ignore her, or would he yell at her? Either of those options seemed likely. She deserved it. She deserved all of it.

What was the point in going to school, anyway? There _was_ no point. Sure, of course her education mattered, but after the incident, everything else that used to be important faded away.

Bethany knew that she would have to go to school eventually. It was inevitable, but she dreaded what might happen. Her thoughts were consumed by the all of the negative possibilities. If she went to school, she would see Kiel walking down the hallway or during English class, and the guilt would slap her full in the face. No, she couldn't do it. There was no way she could face him now.

All she heard were the last words that Kiel had spoken to her, which replayed over and over in an endless circle. His words never left her head. In her dreams, it was worse. One way or another, she dreamed about her fight with Kiel. It always ended with a close-up of his face, tears streaming down his cheeks before he turned his back on her and walked away. He always walked away. And no matter how much Bethany wanted to run after him, her feet stayed rooted to the ground; no matter how much she wanted to yell for him to come back, Bethany's lips stayed sealed shut. She couldn't speak, couldn't move, couldn't even breathe.

Bethany didn't seem to have the motivation to do much of anything, anymore. Aside from basic necessities, she didn't feel the need to do things that she normally enjoyed. She hadn't visited the library, watched a movie, or read a book in a week. Mostly, she spent her time sleeping. She even had to force herself to do homework, which was uncommon for her. As a person who was used to caring about her schoolwork, she didn't feel like herself. She couldn't even muster the motivation to open _Pick The Plot,_ which used to consume all of her free hours.

Sometimes, it felt like she was drowning. The walls around her closed in, and the air was sucked from her lungs. Her chest screamed in pain, but she could barely feel it through her daze. She looked desperately around for a way out, for a light at the end of the tunnel, but she saw nothing. When would this feeling end?

On Wednesday morning, six days after the incident and five days after staying home, her mother tore the covers off her bed and ordered her to go to school.

Bethany groaned and looked up at her, the ghost of tears from her fight with Kiel still dotting her cheeks and her heart as heavy as bricks. Her voice was a barely audible croak as she said, "Why?"

Her mother crossed her arms. "You've missed too much school. You can't keep staying home like this."

Slowly, the girl sat up, her head spinning. "Can I _please_ stay home? I don't _feel_ well."

"I'm sorry, Beth, but you need to get better. Sleeping all day hasn't made your sickness go away."

Okay, she _did_ have a point. But Bethany knew for a fact that this feeling would only intensify the moment she saw Kiel. She dreaded it, but she knew her mother was right. Although she had a valid reason for being depressed, she couldn't keep herself cooped up in her room all day. It wouldn't change anything.

Bethany watched her mother exit the room, then slid out of bed, not even bothering to make it. She sighed, drifting over to her dresser and picking out a random assortment of clothes to wear, not really caring whether her clothes matched or not. Once she was finished dressing, she ran a hand through her greasy, unkempt hair and made a half-hearted attempt to brush it. That only made it look worse, so she settled for a braid and headed downstairs.

Normally at this time of day, she would shovel down breakfast or at least a cup of water. Instead, she found herself anxiously drumming her fingers against the countertop, staring intently at the clock as she awaited the arrival of the school bus.

Ten minutes before the bus even got to her neighborhood, she stepped outside and locked the door behind her before speed-walking to the bus stop. Since her house wasn't too far away from the spot, she stood out in the cold for an extra seven minutes, her teeth chattering. Although it was freezing outside, it was nothing compared to the numbness that encased her body and solidified her weary heart.

Her nerves only heightened when the bus pulled up, screeching loudly as it came to a halt. Bethany placed her hand on the railing and dragged herself up the steps, collapsing into a seat right behind the driver's seat. As the bus picked up more kids, an enormous lump formed in Bethany's throat, and no amount of swallowing would wash it away. By the time they arrived to school, she was close to breaking out in a sweat, despite the cold temperature.

As the bus stopped, Bethany flew down the steps before anyone else, a flurry of snowflakes lightly brushing against her face as she landed on the ground. She exhaled slowly, a fog drifting out of her mouth. She lifted her head, staring face to face with the place she'd been dreading most: high school.

She took another deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. It didn't help much. She forced herself to walk, step after step towards the school. Beneath her, the thin layer of snow and slush crunched beneath her feet. It was the only sound she could focus on without having a full-blown panic attack.

Before she knew it, Bethany was pushing the door open. Her mind was elsewhere as her feet led her forward, towards the usual path to her locker. As she walked down the crowded hallway, her heart was beating so fast and hard that she was sure someone would hear it. Her eyes were bouncing everywhere, searching for one face in particular.

And then, as she got to her locker and poured her books inside, she _did_ see him. As always, Kiel was dressed in black, and he was walking down the hallway in her direction. He wasn't smiling, but he didn't look particularly upset, either. Instead, he looked emotionless, and his eyes were glued to the floor. It killed her to see him this way.

In her head, Bethany pleaded and begged for him to look at her, at least for a second. She _needed_ him to look at her. As he passed by her, she thought that she might've seen him look her way. But it must've been her imagination, because he continued walking. Her heart twisted painfully, and tears pricked at her eyes. She blinked them away, her mouth slightly quivering against her will. She swallowed hard, and the painful lump in her throat only grew.

Right then and there, she hoped the ground would swallow her up. Unfortunately, it didn't. Life was nothing but cruel, and she deserved all of the suffering it gave her. After what she'd done to Kiel, she deserved every last bit of it.

Bethany found herself wishing that she could take everything she'd said back, no matter how true some of her words had been. There was one thing that she knew for sure: she didn't hate Kiel; she never had. Sure, he lied about his life, and then he made up fake, hurtful stories about her's . . . but he didn't deserve to be yelled at like that. She knew that she had taken it too far, but in the moment she had been too angry to realize it. Her biggest mistake was laid out in front of her, and now there was no way to fix it.

What had she done?

* * *

Things weren't much better during English class.

Being too preoccupied with her thoughts, Bethany was barely able to listen to the teacher. Every few minutes, she threw a glance in Kiel's direction, trying to be subtle. She doubted it was, because the nerves were spreading through her body like a wildfire. She attempted to hide her hands beneath her desk, which hadn't stopped shaking since this morning.

"Bethany, are you paying attention?" Mr. Tompkins asked abruptly from the far end of the classroom.

Bethany nodded silently, swiping a strand of bronze hair out of her face. As the students turned away from her and back to the lesson, she caught Liz's eye from across the room. Her friend looked more concerned than she'd ever seen her. Liz would definitely confront her about it once class ended. Bethany had anticipated this, but she certainly wouldn't be ready for it. She wasn't sure if she had the strength to explain anything.

Bethany sighed, glancing again at Kiel. He was leaning his head against his hand, his eyes half-lidded as he stared at the teacher. He didn't so much as tilt his head towards her. She wished he would.

As soon as the bell rang, signaling the end of class, Bethany stood from her chair and slid on her backpack. She looked expectantly at Kiel, opening her mouth to say something, anything. "Hey, I —"

"Kiel, do you know what the answer is for the history homework?" a boy asked loudly, walking up to Kiel as he grabbed his bag.

Kiel shook his head and walked beside the boy towards the door, giving him a smug grin. In a German accent, he replied, "Bold of you to assume I even _did_ the homework."

Bethany stood there, disappointment resonating through her bones as she watched Kiel leave. Her heart felt as though it'd been torn to shreds. He didn't seem to be fazed or upset at all. Slowly, she shuffled after all of the other kids, feeling like she'd been slapped in the face.

When she arrived in the hallway, Liz was standing there, her arms crossed and her brows knitted with worry. "Are you okay? You haven't been to school for three days in a row, and you weren't at the book club meeting on Saturday! Is something wrong?"

Bethany bit her tongue hard to prevent another waterfall of tears from erupting. She tucked her hair behind her ears. "I'm fine. I'm just sick."

Liz shook her head, a frown on her face. "You don't _look_ fine. You look upset, Bethany."

"I'm not," she lied, wiping her clammy hands on her jeans. "I'm only sick. I-I had the flu for the past couple of days, and I'm still recovering."

"Is that only it?"

Bethany nodded, stepping away. She forced a smile. "Yeah. That's it."

Liz smiled back, but she still looked worried. "Um, okay. See you at lunch!"

Bethany could only nod again in response, because she feared what might happen if she tried to speak again. She could and would _not_ cry in public. She hated crying in front of other people, even her mother. It was too embarrassing. Although Liz was her closest friend, she didn't want to share her burden with her. It would only make Bethany feel worse about the situation.

Her heart aching, she trudged over to Chemistry class. Being there only reminded her of Kiel, and the first conversation she'd had with him. That had been a month ago, in early December. As she sat there, staring blankly at the whiteboard, their conversation echoed in her head.

" _What is your next class?"_ Kiel had asked.

" _Chemistry,"_ she had replied.

" _Chemistry,"_ he'd said, the same smile on his face that she longed to see now. _"Chemistry is very . . . scientific. I prefer a subject that's easier to understand. I never liked science. I only use it if I absolutely need to —"_

"Ms. Sanderson?" her Chemistry teacher inquired. Bethany was snapped back to reality, and she looked up from her desk, her heart racing. She was surprised to see that all of her classmates were now sitting at lab tables, preparing for an experiment.

Bethany's eyes widened, and she glanced over at her teacher, who looked almost concerned. "Um, sorry. What?"

"I was calling you for the past minute," her teacher said, gesturing to the other students who sat at the lab tables. "Are you feeling well? I think you should go to the nurse. Maybe you should go home, too."

Bethany shook her head and rose from her desk. "I feel fine. Sorry, I'm just recovering from my sickness." She joined a group at a lab table, ignoring the glances they stole and wishing that this horrible day would end.

She could only hope that Kiel was better off than her. _Was_ he okay? Was he really as happy as looked? Probably not, considering the state he'd been on when she had last talked to him. But maybe he was. Although it was painful to think about, it would still make her feel slightly better to know that he wasn't suffering.

* * *

At lunch, the cafeteria was swimming with students. It was crowded as always, with the loud uproar of conversation. Teachers and students alike walked around, gathering food and searching for a place to sit.

Kiel stood in the line with an empty tray in his hands, his eyes trained on nothing but the food in front of him. Food from the nonfictional world used to excite him, and while it still was intriguing, things were more . . . dull now. The color felt like it'd been drained from his life, which wasn't anything he'd ever experienced before.

Since last week, he did everything in his power to distract himself, to push on and keep a confident facade on. He tried very hard to control his thoughts, but they always ended up going back to Bethany. Thinking about her used to bring a smile to his face. Now, it made his chest hurt.

To be honest, Kiel didn't know what he was doing here anymore. He had no idea why, despite everything, he still hoped Bethany would come around and apologize to him. The things she had said were as harsh as a bitter wind. Her words felt like a stab wound in his heart; they punctured him, and he was unable to recover. Words were just words. They were usually meaningless, but Kiel knew he would never forget her's.

He had an endless list of questions. Why had she said that? Did she actually hate him? Did she really feel that way about him? And then there was the most unanswerable one, which was: what now?

Kiel didn't think he had a purpose here anymore. What was he supposed to do _,_ now that his quest had failed? What was he supposed to _want_? Was he supposed to stay here and wait? Or was he supposed to go home and figure out an alternative way to defeat Nobody?

Bethany had pushed him away time and time again, but now was the only time he would not try again with her. This was the last straw. It was officially over. She would never willingly rejoin with her fictional self, much less talk to him again. There was nothing he could do anymore except either wait for Bethany to apologize or go home. He knew he should probably go with the second option.

Kiel just didn't know which direction to go. He felt lost without a purpose. His goal had been to reunite Bethany's two halves, then find Owen, then stop Nobody. Never had the thought occurred that his plan wouldn't work out. He had tried the best he could, but everything he did seemed to send him backwards. Usually, he always could find the fun out of a situation, and he could easily amuse himself on a daily basis. But now, it often felt like he couldn't enjoy himself as much anymore.

Bethany didn't even try believing him, and she had said that she hated him. She _hated_ him. Was that even true? It didn't matter to Kiel, because those three words cut him inside. It was useless to try with Bethany anymore. She would never believe him, and there was no magic spell to reverse that. She wasn't the same person that he knew as his best friend, and she definitely wasn't the Bethany Sanderson that he knew.

The thought of her ever hating him brought tears to his eyes, because the only thing he'd ever done was be her friend. He _never_ cried. Well, he had cried once or twice, but that was only in private. He hated showing any signs of weakness, especially to his fans. But when he had cried in front of Bethany, it felt like . . . nothing. He hadn't even realized that tears were falling down his face until he got home and glanced in the mirror. It was shocking to see himself that way.

As Kiel finished grabbing his food, he scanned the room, looking for somewhere to sit. Since Bethany hadn't been at school for majority of last week, he had sat at her table out of habit. But now that she _was_ here, there was no way he was going to sit with her. Not after what happened. The wound was still too fresh in his heart, and he felt worse every time he caught sight of her.

Kiel hated how complicated this was. Why did it have to be this way? If she believed him, they would've gone to Jupiter City by now, and she would've been rejoined with her fictional self. He still didn't understand why she had overreacted the way she did. All things considered, he was a pretty convincing person, and he would never do anything to intentionally hurt her.

"Hey, do you wanna sit with me and my friends?" the deep voice of a boy asked.

Kiel blinked, turning to see Charlie, the same boy who he'd become friends with on his first day of school. He hadn't talked to him much outside of math class, but maybe this was a good sign. He needed a place to sit, after all.

"Sure, why not?" Kiel said, plastering a grin on his face. "Thanks for the offer."

The chubby boy smiled in response, leading Kiel over to his table. As Kiel followed him, he glanced around the cafeteria. His eyes drifted to Bethany, who was sitting a few tables away. Just as he looked at her, she lifted her head. Their eyes locked. Kiel's breath caught in his throat, and he remembered her words, as clear as day: _I hate you_. He quickly looked away, wanting nothing more than to talk to her. He knew that wasn't an option anymore. It wouldn't be . . . unless she came around and decided to apologize to him.

For now, Kiel was completely set on pushing her out of his thoughts, which meant that he should probably stop looking at her. Sometimes, he thought about talking to her, but the very idea of it made him feel a little queasy. After this feeling came to him several times, he was forced to admit that he felt nervous.

Kiel didn't do nervous . . . at least he _tried_ not to. He was an expert at hiding any feelings of doubt or fear from anyone, especially to avoid disappointing his fans. He'd been doing it for the past week, so he knew that he could keep doing it without a problem. He wanted to be a good role model for everyone, because what would his fans think if they knew that he was terrified half the time? They'd feel betrayed. A hero wasn't meant to have those feelings.

Luckily, being outside his own world meant that he wasn't being watched, or judged, or read about. He felt more comfortable about letting his emotions run wild, although he still put on a fearless persona all of the time. Hiding his emotions from his friends, though? Especially from Bethany? It was nearly impossible.

Looking at Bethany, especially at a time like this, made Kiel's stomach churn. He never used to get this way around her before. He figured that the events of that fateful night last week must've been the cause. After all, he had poured out the truth to her, and her words had broken his heart in a way that he'd never felt before.

Maybe he _should_ just go home. It certainly would make things simpler.

Even though he missed Bethany with every fiber of his being, he knew there might not be another option. Still, he would wait for as long as he dared. He would wait until she apologized to him, not the other way around. And if she never did, he would still wait. He couldn't give up on her just yet.

Despite everything that had went down, there was a voice in the back of Kiel's head, which told him to stay put. He knew better than to ignore it, so he listened. There had to be a way to embrace the problem and make it work. Somehow, there had to be a positive ending to all of this. Kiel knew there would be, he just didn't know if that ending included Bethany apologizing to him or not.

* * *

Within the second week of not talking to Kiel, Bethany found that the large, gaping hole in her chest was no less big. A broken heart was supposed to heal as more time passed, right? In her case, it didn't seem to be true.

She still woke up with the same sensation of her heart being roughly squeezed, and the feeling only heightened every time she saw Kiel. It was worse, because he never talked to her or even looked at her. He didn't even sit with her at lunch, which made sense, but it still hurt more than anything.

She wanted to say something to him, at least to apologize, but she found herself unable to. Every time she saw him, he was always surrounded by friends, and he seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself. She often wondered how he was doing. Was he as happy as he acted?

At school, each period was grueling, and Bethany was never able to focus in any of her classes. Time seemed to have slowed to an agonizing crawl; each second felt like a minute, and each minute felt like hours. She could tell that her teachers were noticing the change, and their short-lived concern had dwindled into irritation. Her grades started to drop, and Bethany found it harder and harder to motivate herself to do homework.

Early one morning, Bethany climbed off the bus and started walking towards the front doors of the school, instantly chilled to the bone. At least the weather, which was cold and dreary, fit in perfectly with her mood. Around her, everyone else seemed to be happy and surrounded by friends. Bethany envied them. The only person she wanted as a friend now wanted nothing to do with her.

Weirdly, it took Bethany longer to get to her locker than usual. Before she knew it, she found herself standing in front of Kiel's locker instead. She recognized it as his because she had unconsciously memorized it sometime within the past month.

 _Ugh._ What was she doing? It's not like she owed him anything, anymore. Sure, she regretted treating him so horribly, but it was too late to take everything back. He had lied about his life — straight to her face! And then there was that whole thing about him being fictional, which was definitely crazy. Really, he should've apologized to _her_ before any of this mess happened.

But what had he done wrong?

 _Nothing_ , a thought echoed in Bethany's mind. _You were the one who ruined everything. You said you hated him, when it's the exact opposite. You crushed his soul, you ruined your friendship, you're a horrible—_

"Shut up," Bethany said aloud, earning a few strange looks from the people nearby. Okay, yes. She hated herself for the things she had said to Kiel. She felt so guilty that it was hard to wake up, sometimes. But she couldn't talk to him. She just _couldn't._ What could she say? Everything was ruined now.

Sighing, Bethany gazed sadly at his locker for a second longer before turning on her heel and making her way through the hallway towards her first class of the day. She tried in vain to pay attention to the lesson, but it was close to impossible with Kiel sitting next to her. She was unable to stop thinking about him, and a billion questions tore through her head. _Is he alright? Is he hurt? Is he happier without me? Is he —_

"Pop quiz on the vocabulary sheet I handed out last Friday!" Mr. Tompkins announced, grabbing a short stack of papers from his desk. Half of the class groaned, all scrambling to study what words they could and grabbing the supplies they'd need for the quiz.

As a sheet was landed on her desk, Bethany clenched her fists, staring down at the quiz with wide eyes. With how distracted she'd been lately, she hadn't even remembered to read over the vocabulary words. She sighed, then pressed the tip of her pencil to the paper and began guessing at the answers. Once she was finished, she walked over to Mr. Tompkins' desk and slid the quiz onto it, a feeling of dread enveloping her.

A few minutes after Bethany sat back down, the bell rang, releasing them for their next class. As the students hurried to leave, Mr. Tompkins shouted above the uproar of conversation. "Whoever didn't finish their quiz, you'll have to finish it tomorrow during class!" When no one answered, he sighed heavily. "Okay, just go. Everyone but you, Bethany."

Bethany froze mid-stride, her backpack already on her shoulders. She stepped out of the way, allowing the other students to pass by without getting trampled. Once the last person walked out, Mr. Tompkins closed the door. Uh oh. _That_ wasn't a good sign.

Mr. Tompkins went over to his desk, ruffled through a stack of papers, then pulled out a sheet and handed it to Bethany. It was her vocabulary quiz from earlier! Then, she saw what grade she had gotten, and her heart sunk even lower than before. It was a D. A _D!_

"I've noticed a lack in your performance lately," her English teacher said, gesturing to her quiz as she gaped at it. "You haven't been focused in class, and you haven't handed your homework in on time, either. This grade is just the icing on the cake." He leaned against his desk, observing her. "If this keeps going on, I think I'll have to call your mother —"

"Please don't," Bethany said, cringing. There was no way she could face this, too. Then, she'd have to explain everything to her mother, and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

His expression changed to one more of concern. "Is something going on at home? Sometimes, when there is an issue in a student's life outside of school, that effects the performance of the student severely. If that's the case, we have a guidance counselor on the second floor."

"No, everything's fine," she said quietly, gritting her teeth as she stared at the ground. "I'm sorry. I'll try to improve in class."

"Good. I expect you to," he said. "Try to get this under control. If your grade slips any more in my class, just know that I'll be forced to take matters up with your mother."

Bethany nodded, anger and guilt burning through her as she left the classroom and stomped over to her next class. _Ugh_. This was so humiliating. But her teacher had a point: she needed to get this under control. There was too much at stake, and her grades depended on it. She knew that she needed to stop herself from falling down this dark path before it was too late.

At the end of the day, there was an all-school assembly in the gym. Bethany had actually forgotten about it, and by the time she got there, it was completely filled. Some kids were still finding seats, but other than that, it was full.

In front of the bleachers, a woman was holding a microphone, speaking to the audience in a sympathetic tone. "This is why we need to care about our health and wellness, especially in high school. But I want you to know that whatever you're feeling right now, it is normal and okay."

Bethany climbed the bleachers, ignoring the stares that followed her as she looked everywhere for a place to sit. Then, at the very top of the bleachers, she saw only one open seat. It was next to Kiel.

She quickly turned around, desperately scanning the room for another open seat, _any_ other seat that wasn't this one, but she had no such luck. Accepting defeat, she climbed to the top row. His eyes bore into her's for a moment, almost longingly, but he looked away as soon as she sat down. She scooted as far away from him as she could, but he didn't even look her way. He was talking quietly with another boy and barely acknowledged her presence.

Every time she stole glances at Kiel, he was smiling and talking with others around him. She could tell that his smiles were fake; they were small and forced. Not once did he speak to her, and only once did she manage to catch his eye, but he quickly looked away without saying a word.

To Bethany, it was the worst thing in the world. Every time she tried to speak up, she took one look at him and the words died in her throat. She couldn't apologize to him. Not here. His eyes, which once looked at her with admiration, were now distant and cold.

That afternoon, she walked to the library for the first time in two weeks. She craved some form of comfort, and sometimes, books were the only place to go. She had been distancing herself from the things she loved, and she needed to feel like herself again. She was mad at herself for _still_ being so upset.

Upon arriving at the library, Bethany ignored everything else and walked straight to the children's section at a brisk pace. She stood there for a moment, taking deep breaths in an effort to calm herself down. She placed her hand on a bookcase and slowly ran her fingers along the spines of the books, reading each label. As always, the books helped. They always offered comfort in a way that no one else could.

Then, there was a sudden throbbing feeling inside of her chest, and she nearly gasped out loud. Unable to fight the feeling off anymore, she sunk to her knees, sliding against the bookcase as she descended to the ground. Her whole body shook, and she grabbed fistfuls of her hair as the world blurred around her. A sob erupted from her chest, and she wasn't able to hold it back anymore. She squeezed her eyes shut, choking on her own tears as she cried for the second time this month.

At that moment, Bethany realized what she needed to do. It wouldn't be easy, but it was necessary. She was determined to set things right. If she didn't, she had a feeling she'd regret it. And she was sick of regrets. She wanted to turn back time and say she believed Kiel on that fateful night. It was obviously too late for that, but it wasn't too late to talk to him. Because deep in her heart, she had a feeling she needed to believe what he was telling her. If she didn't try, she'd loose him forever.

* * *

It was February 1st when Bethany had finally finished writing the perfect apology letter. It had taken her a week of attempts and rough drafts to finally settle on one that she was satisfied with. This was the best alternative for apologizing to Kiel, because she wasn't sure if she could handle talking to him in person. It was too hard. But writing a letter was simple, and it included everything she wanted to say to Kiel.

There was a thought that plagued her: _would Kiel even read the letter?_ Maybe he would see it, and immediately upon seeing Bethany's name he would toss it in the trash. Or maybe he would read it, but he wouldn't forgive her. Or maybe he would forgive her, but after that he'd never talk to her again.

There were too many ways this could go, and it made Bethany's head spin. It was an unsettling feeling to not know what might happen next.

"Where are you going?" Liz asked, one hand on her backpack as she glanced back at Bethany. "Don't you need to get on the bus?"

The bell had just rung, signaling the end of the day. As always, students darted out of the classrooms, chattering loudly to each other as they walked to the school's exit. After stopping at her own locker, Bethany had started walking with Liz towards the buses.

Before she could get close to the exit, however, a guilty feeling stopped her, and she remembered about the letter. It was now or never. She had to do this, or else she would regret it forever. She had already gone nearly a full month without talking to Kiel, and it had killed her inside. For her sake, she needed to put an end to this.

"Yeah, I do," Bethany said, craning her head around the crowd. She spotted Kiel's locker several feet away. "But first I owe someone an apology."

"Okay." Liz smiled, her naturally dark brown eyes turning to a lighter shade of honey as they passed by a window, the sunlight engulfing them. "Good luck with that apology. It's for Kiel, right?"

Bethany's eyebrows shot up. "What?"

Liz moved over to the side and Bethany did the same, allowing other students to pass by. "C'mon, really? He's the only person you'd need to apologize to. It's been torture having to talk to him separately when I'm not around you. He's heartbroken! I don't know what you said to him, but it obviously upset him. Not only that, but you've been distant and upset this whole month. You seem really depressed, and I can tell it has something to do with Kiel."

Bethany bit her lip and looked down. Whenever she looked at Kiel this past month, he was as blank as a white slate. He lacked the light in his eyes and the warmth in his smile. It made her heart sink. "Youre right. I . . . I haven't been myself. I know. I just . . . I hope he can forgive me. It won't be easy. That's why I wrote a letter."

Liz gave her a quizzical look. "What actually happened that made you guys stop talking to each other? If you got into a fight, why did you write him a letter? Why not tell him in person?"

Bethany threw her hands up, her eyes suddenly watery. "I don't know how! He won't even _look_ at me. I treated him so, _so_ badly, Liz. I don't even deserve to be his friend after what I said. And the bad part is . . . everything told him was true. Except for the hating him part. He's kind of crazy, sure, but I could never hate him."

"What? You said you _hated_ him?" Liz leaned over to smack Bethany on the arm. Bethany yelped and pulled back her arm, which stung where she had slapped it.

"I guess I deserved that," Bethany said, releasing a sigh.

"Of course you did! How could you say that? That actually makes a lot of sense why he's been acting different." Liz took a deep breath, resting her hand on a locker. "But I think he'll accept your apology. As long as you make it meaningful, and as long as you don't insult him in the process."

"I only put nice, apologetic things into that letter!"

"Good," Liz said, slowly starting to smile. "Because if you didn't I really would stop being your friend."

Bethany scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"I'm serious!"

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, but the thing is . . . I had a good, valid reason for saying those things to him. He lied to me, and after that he started following me around when I went to the library after school. Rethinking on that . . . I know that I was wrong to judge him for everything. But at the time, I _did_ have a good reason for yelling at him. Not because I said I hated him . . . but, well . . . he was trying to convince me that he's a fictional character."

"You're joking." Liz peered at her. "You're not? Maybe _he_ was joking. He does that a lot."

"I don't know. He didn't seem like he was joking. He wanted me to go with him into a book to reunite with my fictional self."

Liz let out a small, choked laugh. "Wow. Maybe that was his way of asking you on a date."

Now it was Bethany's turn to smack her friend's arm. "That isn't funny. I'm serious. Kiel was saying everything like it was real. Like he believed he's a fictional character. He was convinced that I'm a half-fictional girl . . . or I used to be, anyway. Now I'm only nonfictional, apparently."

Liz frowned, rubbing her arm. "That's . . . huh."

"Yeah. I didn't believe him either. How could I? How could anyone? But I took it out of proportion and drove him away. Now, and even then I felt terrible about it."

"Have you tried talking to him?"

"I've . . . I mean, sometimes I've tried but —" She sighed, looking down at her shoes. "No. I haven't. Every time I look at him I just remember about how much he hates me."

Liz was quiet for a moment. She twisted her fingers in her wavy locks of hair. "I don't think he hates you."

"How would you know that?" Bethany asked, her voice low.

"Because he asks about you."

"He does? When?"

"All the time."

"Wait . . ." Bethany looked down at the envelopes letter in her hands. She felt a surge of hope go through her. "What do you mean 'all the time'? Every few days? Every week? Every few weeks?"

"No," Liz said. "I mean, all the time. Every day. Every time I see him, no matter what we talk about, he always asks about _you_."

 _He always asks about you._ Bethany shivered at the thought, an unexpected array of various emotions flooding through her. Then wordlessly, she walked over to Kiel's locker and stuck the letter through the slit.

* * *

At school, it was pretty easy for Kiel to distract himself by talking to others. He could block out most of his worries that way, and he could prevent himself from thinking about Bethany for a short time. But it was the worst at night, because he had only his thoughts for company. Since Elijah wasn't with him anymore, Kiel was in an empty house, and since he had nothing better to do, his mind raced constantly.

Often, he thought of Owen when he was alone. He missed his best friend, and he needed him — now more than ever — after what had happened with Bethany. Because who else knew the boring, nonfictional world like Owen? Kiel itched for the things he was familiar with, like fighting fire-breathing dragons or searching for the missing keys with Charm, or even just being in Magisteria. The only reason the nonfictional world had ever felt like home was because of Bethany and Owen, and now, both were practically gone from his life.

More than anything, he wished things could go back to the way they used to be. Everything used to be filled with danger and fun, and now, the light was gone from his life. He wondered why Bethany hadn't apologized to him yet. Although he hid his true feelings when he was at school, he still felt upset by her words. He could hardly look at her without the words _I hate you_ repeating in an endless mantra in his head.

It was always her hair that caught his eye first, and then he would see her face, which looked considerably grown-up compared to the twelve year-old girl he'd met three years ago. He would stare to her, if just for a moment, and then would rush off to class as the bell rang. He never really thought of it before, but now that she wasn't with him it felt much emptier in the hallway. Even though he was always surrounded by other kids, he still felt very much alone without Bethany.

That afternoon, as he opened his locker, something unexpected happened. An envelope fell out, landing on the floor beneath his feet. Kiel's eyes widened, and he bent down to pick it up. It was the color of fresh snow, with a folded opening in the center. He turned it over, feeling confused about how it had even gotten there. On the back, his name was written in cursive. He recognized it immediately as Bethany's handwriting.

Kiel's mouth dropped open, and he slowly started to smile. He stared down at the letter in disbelief, his hands shaking slightly. Bethany had written him a letter? After a month of waiting and hoping and being continuously disappointed, something good had finally happened.

Still, he had some doubts. A month ago she'd said that she hated him, so he knew that some part of her must've meant it. He had to remind himself that Bethany had written the letter for the purpose of writing an apology, but he was nervous to read it.

He hoped she would agree to reunite with her fictional self after a month of avoiding him. Then again, he had been avoiding her too. Even though he thought about her every day, and longed to talk to her again, he had been too hurt after their fight. He was glad that she had been the one to apologize, because he was close to losing hope and heading back to Magisteria.

When he got home, Kiel gently pried the letter out of his bag, being careful not to accidentally rip it. He took a deep, shaky breath and walked over to his room, sitting on his bed and opening the envelope without a second of hesitation.

 _Dear Kiel (Gnomenfoot or Bauer? Please make up your mind),_

 _I didn't know how to tell you this face-to-face. First of all, I want you to know how sorry I am. If you hate me now, I don't hold that against you. I was horrible and rude to you. I want you to know that I don't hate you. I never hated you, and I wanted to be your friend for a while, but things became so complicated and I didn't know if you were telling the truth any more. Oliver told me those things, about you being a criminal and you not being German. I already know that you aren't either of those things, but the fact that you lied about it made me really doubt if you were my friend at all._

 _But I realize now that it doesn't matter. You were only doing what you thought was right. You were trying to tell me something, and I was too angry to see that. I don't know if I'll ever believe that thing about me being half-fictional, and I don't think I ever will, but I still want to be your friend if you want to be mine. I'm really sorry for hurting your feelings. I want so badly to believe you, but I just can't. I don't think a fictional world or character could ever be real, but if you want to convince me still, I promise I won't resist or get mad. It's the least I could do to make up for all those things I said._

 _Your friend,_

 _Bethany Sanderson_

* * *

" _Messing with someone new, thinking I wanted to. Turns out I don't want new, I want you . . ."_


	15. Two Halves, One Girl

_**Find Me (by Sigma)**_

" _Like a river always running, I keep losing you. Like a fire always burning, I'll be here for you . . ."_

* * *

The next morning, Owen skidded down the volcano, Kara right at his heels as they navigated the slippery decline. After talking for hours until the sky was filled with stars, they had both fallen asleep at some point. A volcano, Owen decided, definitely wasn't an ideal place to sleep, nor was it the most logical hiding spot. He was glad that he hadn't been unexpectedly eaten in the middle of the night. After all, this _was_ a _Pick The Plot_ book, so anything was possible with the readers being in control.

"It just looks like more jungle to me," Kara said once they finally reached the bottom. Owen could only agree to her statement. There were trees everywhere, and the foliage was so dense that it blocked any chance of seeing what lay beyond the jungle.

Owen scanned his surroundings, walking along the edge of the jungle. Halfway covered by bushes and plants, there was a dirt path. He pointed to it. "Hey, look, there's the path! It'll probably lead us to the time watches."

She nodded, moving in front of him and starting along the path. From her expression, Owen could tell she looked nervous. "Let's hurry."

Owen followed right behind her, trying his best to stay on the path. It wasn't very wide, which didn't give him much space to walk around. The ground was also more uneven here, so it was easy to trip. As they continued walking, the sun rose higher in the sky, radiating heat onto the jungle and warming the air around them. So far, there were only a few dinosaur noises, but they were distant and faint.

Suddenly, an idea abruptly came to Owen's head, making him wonder if the readers had planted it there. This idea didn't give him a headache, so he doubted it. He stopped in his tracks, grabbing Kara's hand before she could venture further.

"Wait," he said. "I think I have another idea on how to get us out of here. And we won't have to use the time watches."

Kara sighed, turning around to face him. "How exactly can we do that? There's no way we can get out of here without the time watches. They're our only way out."

"Maybe you're right," Owen said slowly, feeling more optimistic than he had in a while. "But I still have to try. If it doesn't work, it's not too late to keep looking for them."

She scrunched her eyebrows, some of her distress showing in her voice as she spoke. "What's your idea? We've been searching everywhere for the time watches, and at this point the Countess has already gotten to them." She frowned and looked out into the trees. "Not only that, but we need to stop her. She'll destroy everything if she gets her hands on them. We need to find the time watches _first_ , and then we can take her down. And if we don't, well, you know . . ."

"I know," Owen said quietly, knowing exactly what she was talking about. If they didn't get the time watches first, the Countess would kill one of them and make the other watch. But he had to remain optimistic about this. They'd come so far, and he was so close to getting out of here.

He clapped his hands. "Well then, as my friend Kiel says: let's make it work for us instead of against us. I'm going to do one of those nonfictional things you hate hearing about. It might backfire, but if we can't find the time watches then I'm not sure what other choice we have to escape. It'll get us out of here."

"Okay," she said with some reluctance. "But remember, we _do_ need to stop the Countess somehow."

He nodded. "If this works, it'll take care of both things. _And_ you'll be able to leave here if you want to help me find Bethany."

Kara frowned. "But . . . I already told you that I can't leave. My whole life — my _future —_ is mapped out for me. I'm destined to destroy the world. Along with some other things, too. It just isn't that simple." She didn't meet his eyes. There was obviously something she wasn't telling him, maybe about what might happen in the future? Owen didn't know.

Owen shook his head. "No, _everything_ is simple when you break it down. If you leave this world altogether it'll change your story _and_ your future. You just have to trust me. This'll work. And if it doesn't, we can go back to looking for the time watches."

With that, he squeezed his eyes shut, an idea sprouting in his head. If this was the only way out of this book . . . then so be it. He might as well use the readers to his advantage, if this could even work. It was a slim chance, but Owen was out of options. It would be a miracle if it worked. He envisioned the readers cooperating with him, then ripping open a page between stories, allowing him to travel straight to Jupiter City. As he thought of this, he began his speech to the readers, thinking in his most convincing tone.

 _Hey, readers. I know we didn't get off on the right foot. I mean, how could we? You tried to control me and make me do things I didn't want to do, and I feel like I never did anything to deserve that. I get that if you believe what Nobody says — about nonfictionals taking control of the lives of fictionals — then you probably don't want to help me. You want me to learn my lesson since I'm nonfictional. I get it. But please, whatever you're feeling, you need to help me and Kara. Please. If you could maybe get rid of the Countess for us, we'd really appreciate it. If you've been reading this book, I'm sure you see plenty of reasons to hate her, too. And well, you need to help Bethany, too. She's my half-fictional best friend, and she's done nothing but try to look for her father. So please, just send me back to the Doc Twilight comics — back to Bethany. I promise in return I'll tell every single nonfictional writer to stop controlling fictionals' lives. I'll even stop writing my own stories! I'll do whatever it takes! Just please . . . help us?_

Owen held his breath and waited. He looked around, searching for a response or a sign that his plea had been answered. As far as he could tell, there weren't any portals appearing in thin air that would take him to Jupiter City. He shoulders slumped in disappointment, and he looked at Kara, who was staring at him in confusion. "What happened? Did it work?"

He shook his head, releasing a sigh. Once again, things were always against him. "No. It didn't."

Kara gazed at him for a moment longer, then reached over and grabbed his hand, pulling him into a walk. She gave him a half-smile. "It's okay. Just like you said, we'll find another way."

Owen nodded, wanting to kick himself for this not working. He tried to do one thing to save them, _one thing_ , and of course it didn't work. Of _course_! Ugh. He'd only been here for a week and he was completely sick of this stupid book. If the readers were choosing his every move, why couldn't they help him out for once instead of sending him into danger? _That_ would be helpful.

For once, he understood what it was like to be fictional. Not only the being-controlled-by-someone-else part, but the fact that there wasn't a simple way to solve his problem. This kind of thing always happened in books. It made the main character's conflict harder to beat, but Owen was determined to bypass this. He could only hope that they'd find the time watches before the Countess did. If that happened, at least he'd have a chance at escaping.

As they walked, the uneven ground grew slanted, transforming into a hill. The jungle floor was crunchy and brittle beneath his feet, a dramatic change from the muddy surface the day before. The hill seemed to only get steeper, making it harder for Owen and Kara to move at a fast pace.

When they finally reached the top of the hill, Owen was panting, and he was covered in sweat. He put his hands on his knees, taking deep breaths as Kara appeared beside him. Then, he looked up. He didn't except what he saw.

Surrounded by a grove of trees, a large, metal door had been dug into the ground. There were words on top, but they were too faded to read. The metal on the door was rusted, which made Owen wonder how long it had been there. It almost looked like a storm shelter. Why was there a random door in the ground?

"Is that . . ." Kara whispered breathlessly to Owen. Without waiting for him to respond, she dragged her feet forward and ran to the door, sliding onto her knees.

"Wait up!" Owen shouted, but he couldn't blame her. He hurried after her, standing a few feet away as he watched her place her hands on the handles of the double-doors. Kara pulled with much effort, leaning her body to the side. Wincing, she withdrew her hands and shook them out, as if she were in pain.

Owen went to her side and knelt down, grabbing the handle of one of the doors. With all his might, his pulled on it with both hands. It was as heavy as a ton of bricks, and it barely budged. He sat back and looked at Kara. "Okay, _that_ didn't work. Is it really necessary for the door to be this heavy?"

She laughed. "Apparently." She nudged him lightly in the side. "C'mon, let's both try."

He nodded, wiping the sweat off his palms before placing both hands on the handle. Kara put her's right underneath his, and said, "One . . ."

"Two . . ." Owen muttered, tightening his grip on the handle.

"Three," they said together. Instantly, they yanked open the door. It was still heavy, but with their combined effort, they managed to get it open halfway before it fell the rest of the way to the ground with a loud clatter.

Owen beamed, nearly jumping in the air from excitement. "We did it!"

She grinned in response, standing up and directing her gaze towards the hole in the ground. Beyond the door, there were stairs leading down into darkness. Kara took a deep breath, then started walking down. Owen hesitated before walking down after her.

"Think the time watches are down here?" he asked, half-jokingly. He wished he had brought a flashlight, or something. The deeper they went into the underground tunnel, the harder it was to see.

"If I could guess, my answer would be yes. This is the only underground tunnel we've seen," Kara said, her hand against the wall as she descended the stairs.

"How do we know if it's safe?" Owen asked, his voice raising in pitch. He cleared his throat, heat rising to his cheeks. " _Um_ , usually dark staircases are where people get killed in horror movies."

She shrugged. "There's no other way to find out what's down here. If it's the time watches, we need to go down here anyway."

He sighed. She had a point, but he didn't like this one bit. He sensed something might be wrong, but it was probably just his nerves. He'd been afraid nonstop ever since he got thrown into this book.

In front of him, Kara paused. She placed her hand out, sliding it against the wall, then made contact with something. She pressed down on it. Instantly, the room was filled with light.

Owen's gasp echoed through the room. He slid up beside Kara, staring with wide eyes around the room. But it wasn't a tunnel like the Countess had depicted. Instead, it looked to be an underground bunker. Scattered around the bunker were dozens of crates — all unlocked and hanging wide open. Owen assumed they might've been neatly stacked at some point, but now they were all over the floor. On the crates, there were huge letters, the initials of the Time Security Agency, which read: TSA.

In the center of it all, there was a single time watch on the floor. And from what Owen could see, it was broken.

Next to him, Kara was slowly breathing in and out, her hands balled into fists. "What. _Happened_?" She darted forwards, grabbing an empty crate and turning it over. Letting out a frustrated noise, she tossed the crate to the side and picked up another, then another. She moved around the room in a rampage, looking angrier than Owen had ever seen her.

Quietly, he walked up to a crate that was laying on the floor. He carefully picked it up and flipped it over, peered inside at the contents. Inside were dozens of wires connected to the sides of the walls, which looked almost like cell phone chargers. Had the time watches been in here? If so, where had they gone? And who had taken them?

In a fit of anger, Kara threw the last crate on the floor and ran a hand through her hair. She turned on Owen, advancing on him. "Where did they go, Owen? Where did the time watches go?!"

"I don't know!" he replied, quickly backing away and dropping his eyes to the floor. He walked over to the broken time watch and picked it up, gently turning it over in his hands. "This is all that's left. Maybe you can fix it?"

She snatched the time watch from him, fiddled with it, then threw it on the floor. "I can't fix it! There's no way I can fix it, not without — without —" She sighed loudly, burying her face in her hands. " _She_ did this. It was the Countess. I can't believe how stupid I was. I should've never listened to her. I should've —"

"Hey," Owen said, placing a hand on her shoulder. When she didn't pull away, he slid the rest of his arm across her shoulders, pulling her into a side hug. "It's . . . it's going to be okay. We'll find another way to defeat her, and after that we'll escape."

Kara dropped her hands, her eyes filled with tears. She looked at him with a sorrowful expression, and Owen realized with a start that their faces were only inches apart. "I'm so sorry, Owen. That was your only way out, and now she's gotten to them."

He stared at her, an array of butterflies forming in his stomach. As if drawn by some unseen force, he leaned a bit closer to her, feeling warmer by the second. "It's okay, it's okay. I-It isn't your fault."

"'It isn't her fault'?" an amused voice repeated, followed by a cackle. Owen and Kara both jumped, their heads snapping in the direction of the voice. Standing at the top of the stairs was the Countess. Slowly, she walked down the stairs and closed the door behind her, locking it into place. They were trapped.

"Give us the time watches," Kara ordered. "Where are they?"

"As if I'd ever tell you that." The Countess smiled down at them. It wasn't a pleasant smile. As she took the last step down the staircase, she lifted her wrist and waved it at them, revealing a time watch. "See this? This is all I need. One push and I'll be free to sculpt the world into my creation. But I know we made a deal, and it would be very inconsiderate of me to ignore our agreement."

"We didn't agree on that, _you_ did," Owen pointed out. "No one is going to get killed, okay? All I ask is that you leave us alone, and give us a time watch to borrow."

The Countess blinked in surprise, then scoffed. "If you think I'll ever give you little monsters what you want, you're nothing but stupid. This is about what _I_ want, and I want to make Kara suffer."

"You've already made me suffer enough," Kara said, glaring hatefully at her. "Do what you want, but just know that you'll be bringing about the end of the universe no matter what you do to me." She pointed at Owen. "If he dies, I'll make sure it comes sooner. And when it does come, I _swear_ you'll be the first to go."

"Those are famous last words," the Countess said, then disappeared out of sight.

Owen's eyes widened, and he looked around. "Hey, where did she go?" A split-second later, he felt an arm latch around his neck, and he was yanked close to the Countess, who was now standing behind him. Her glowing glove was right in front of Owen, nearing closer to him with every second.

"Let him go!" Kara yelled, raising her fists. She stepped closer to them as the Countess moved back, holding Owen tightly against her. Her nostrils flared, and she took a deep breath. In a calmer voice, but no less threatening, she said, "Let. Him. Go."

"Not a chance," the Countess said. "I know how important this boy is to you. A deal's a deal. One of you gets to watch the other die."

"No," Owen whispered, shaking his head desperately. "No _, please._ " He wasn't ready to die. He couldn't die here, not like this! His mind racing, he looked at the ceiling and directed his thoughts at the readers. _Readers!_ he screamed in his head. _If you're listening, please help me! I still need to escape from this book and save Bethany! I don't deserve this! If you disagree with anything Nobody is saying, please do something! Please, I need your help!_

"You're out of time," the Countess said, raising her glove to Owen's chest. He flinched and squeezed his eyes shut, his ears echoing with Kara's shouts, which sounded far away now. But nothing happened. When he opened his eyes, he saw why.

Out of nowhere, two women and one man in gray suits blinked into existence in front of them. One woman grabbed the Countess, yanking her off of Owen and removing the time watch from her wrist. The other woman grabbed Kara. Instantly, handcuffs formed around their wrists, preventing them from moving their arms.

"What is this?" the Countess roared, writhing around in a fit of anger. The woman only held her tighter, not bothering to respond.

"We're going to have to take you both in," the man said. "Since the time prison is currently . . . inhabitable, we're placing the time prisoners we can find into a smaller, temporary prison."

What? After everything that happened, after the Time Security Agency was destroyed, the agents _still_ wanted to put Kara into jail? Owen gritted his teeth, prepared to fight if he had to. "You can put the Countess in there, she deserves it. But Kara doesn't! She hasn't done anything wrong!"

The man stared at Owen for a moment, then laughed. "Do you even know who this is? This is Kara Dox, immune to paradox after her mother gave birth to her in a time bubble. Her older self has caused three hundred and twelve reported time violations, including fourteen major felonies. We have reason to believe she's the cause of the world being destroyed in the future. She's meant to be locked up for the rest of her days."

The Countess stopped struggling for a moment to flash a grin at Kara. "Hear that, Kara? You won't be escaping. You won't get the satisfaction."

Kara glared at her. "Neither will you. Knowing that is enough to make me feel satisfied." She glanced at the man, raising her cuffed hands in surrender. "I won't fight back, okay? Trust me, I know how dangerous I am. Just . . . please let me say goodbye to my friend."

The man frowned, then reluctantly nodded to the woman holding her. The woman released her, and Kara stepped forward towards Owen. He grabbed her arms, staring into her eyes. "Kara, don't do this. We can still fight back and use the Countess's time watch to escape! It isn't too late."

She gulped, shaking her head. "I'm sorry . . . it was really nice what you said yesterday, about me going to the nonfictional world with you. I would love to go, but I don't really have a choice now. I can't easily escape, not from these guys. There are three of them and two of us." She looked at her feet. "I think it's best that I'm locked up, anyway. The world will be safe, and _you'll_ be safe."

"Is that even what you want?" Owen asked quietly. "You'll be locked up again. That isn't life, Kara. You can't run from your problems because you're afraid of them. There's so much more to life than that."

Kara sighed. "I'm sorry, Owen, but even if it's not what I want . . . I still need to do it. For the sake of the universe. But I hope we see each other again someday." She forced a smile, slipping out of his grasp and allowing the woman to grab her again.

"I'll come back for you!" he said as both women pressed buttons on their time watches. A second later, Kara, the Countess, and the women all disappeared, aside from the man who had stayed put.

Owen gasped, staring helplessly at the place Kara had just been. ". . . Kara?" He clenched his fists, looking over at the man. "Where did you take her?"

"I already answered this. They'll be moved to a different facility," the man said, sounding slightly annoyed. "Since the Jules Verne Memorial Time Prison will be under construction for a long time, we'll stick who we can find into solitary confinement. The prisoners shouldn't be interacting with each other, anyway. They should be punished for the countless crimes they committed to time, and they should be surrounded by higher security. Especially Kara Dox, since she's had countless felonies . . ."

The rest of his words faded beneath the roar of blood in Owen's ears. In that moment, he wouldn't have noticed if someone had punched him in the stomach or kicked him in the face. There was only a numb, cold feeling. Just like that, she was locked up like a prisoner again. One moment, they were on top of a volcano, and she was kissing his cheek. Now, she was _gone_.

The numbness inside him snapped cleanly in half and spread a searing anger through his veins, causing his body to shake. With this, he was given the strength to shove his feet forward. Blind rage flowing through him, Owen charged toward the man and threw himself against him.

"Bring her back!" Owen screamed, plunging his forearm into the man's chest. His impact didn't even effect the man. He blocked the boy's attempts to hit him and pushed him backward, sending him hurtling to the ground.

When Owen got to his feet, the man had vanished. His anger died down, and he looked around everywhere for a sign of Kara. He knew there was no logical way he could follow them. He didn't even know where the rest of the time watches were, nor did he know where the agents had gone. He let out a defeated sigh. It looked like he was on his own now.

The only part of Kara that was still with him was the ghost of a kiss on his cheek.

Owen crept up the stairs, cursing Nobody, cursing the readers, and cursing the stupid agents who took Kara away. For a short while, everything had seemed so optimistic! Why did things have to be ruined? It felt like the world was against him, especially when he was inside a book.

After many attempts to push the door open, he finally managed to use his lingering anger to heave the heavy door open. Sunlight blinding his eyes, and he landed back on the jungle floor. As he started walking aimlessly in a direction, the shaking of bushes nearby jolted him to the present.

Trying to contain his shaking terror, he threw a glance behind him and saw a dinosaur stalking towards him; it was short in height but huge everywhere else, and it looked angry. It opened it's mouth into a snarl, then dug it's feet into the earth and bounded towards Owen. The boy gasped and pushed himself into a run, nearly tripping over everything he came across. As he ran, the dinosaur made several attempts to bite him, and it's heavy footfalls shook the ground around him.

With wild eyes, Owen forced his burning legs to keep running. The ground started to dip again, and it became uneven and rocky. Despite this, he kept moving forward, his adrenaline being the only thing keeping him from losing his balance. Then, out of nowhere, the path he'd been running on ended, forming into a small cliff.

He didn't have time to stop himself. Before he knew it, he was flying over the edge, too surprised to even scream. His arms flailed everywhere as he tried to grab hold of anything that would slow his fall. The world spun around him, and for a moment, all he heard was the roar of wind in his ears. A second later, he landed on the ground and immediately suspected something was very wrong.

Owen heard a sharp snap, and a feeling of dread overcame him. Simultaneously, an agonizing pain shot through his arm, and he was unable to prevent the scream that erupted from his mouth. He was trembling violently as he rolled onto his side, moaning as the pain skyrocketed. He clutched his arm with one hand, barely able to think.

Fresh tears fell in a constant stream from his eyes, blinding his vision. He tried to sit up, but accidentally leaned on his injured arm in the process. He screamed again as intense pain shot up his arm. He was barely able to breathe with all this pain. The tears continued washing down his face, like a waterfall that refused to cease. With much effort, he sat up, using his other hand to wipe his eyes.

"Oh _god_ ," he said in a choked whisper, and then he made the mistake of looking down at his arm. His eyes bulged out of his head, and panic flooded him. His arm was bent at a strange angle, completely deformed. It was already starting to swell up, and the pain only seemed to be increasing. He made an attempt to gently move his injured arm or hand, but it was no use. He wasn't able to control it.

All in all, this day had somehow gotten a whole lot worse. Just to add to the pile of bad things.

* * *

Bethany was in the library, sitting at one of the empty tables. She'd been here since this afternoon, and spent her time reading _Pick The Plot_ after a month of avoiding it. After she sent the letter to Kiel, a small weight felt like it'd been lifted from her shoulders, and she felt the slightest bit motivated to do something she enjoyed. In her case, that was reading. She didn't realize how much she had missed it until she opened the book and absorbed herself into the story.

So far, it had been a day since she delivered her handwritten letter to Kiel, pouring out her apology onto paper. Since then, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about him. She wondered if he had read the letter yet. Maybe he was avoiding her still, or maybe he was just unsure how to talk to her. That would make sense, but Bethany really hoped that he would talk to her soon. She was dying to know if he'd accept her apology.

Bethany closed the book and stuffed it into her backpack, zipping it closed. She rose from the table, rubbing her tired eyes with one hand and picking up her backpack with the other. As she started towards the door that would lead her home, she rounded the corner of a bookcase and nearly fell into someone.

"Sorry," Bethany murmured, jumping away from the person. Then she looked up, and her brain stopped working altogether at the sight of Kiel standing in front of her. She was so surprised that she didn't remember to say anything. Of all places, he was here?

"Bethany?" he asked in a surprised tone, his eyes widening. Bethany's heart leaped at the sound of his voice, especially with him looking directly at her. It was a relief to hear his voice again.

Regaining his senses, Kiel held up a folded piece of paper. "I got your letter."

Bethany held her breath. "You did?"

He looked down at it, his fingers pressing harder over the edges of the paper. "Thank you for writing this. It —"

"I'm sorry, Kiel," she said, cutting him off. "I didn't know how to tell you in person." He looked at her then, and she forced herself to hold his gaze. It was the first time in a month that she had looked at him — _really_ looked at him. "I'm sorry for everything I said. I didn't mean it. At the time, I did — but I was _so_ confused about everything. I took things _way_ too far. It was uncalled for, and . . . you don't deserve that. I understand if you don't want to be my friend anymore. Really, I do."

"Why did you write the letter?" Kiel asked, suddenly looking curious.

Bethany's face began heating up for some reason. "I felt really guilty, and I didn't know an easy way to apologize. I'm sorry. You must really hate me."

"Hate you?" he questioned, tilting his head. "I could never hate you, Beth. I thought it was the other way around." She smiled. He looked down at the ground, and the next thing he said surprised her. "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have expected you to come with me after I told you you were half-fictional. I thought you would've _wanted_ to come."

"I did," Bethany said quietly, her smile fading. "I would love to travel into a book. It seems impossible, though. I really don't want it to be." Then she shook her head. "I meant what I said in my letter. I want to be your friend. Even if it means rejoining myself, or whatever that means. I owe you a lot."

Slowly, he smiled. His smile looked like the sun peeking out after a long season of winter, and it made Bethany feel a lot lighter. "So you trust me now?"

"Yeah."

"Really? You trust me enough to take you to Jupiter City to rejoin with your fictional self?

Even though she still didn't believe that part could be true, she nodded.

"Then . . . friends?" He held his hand out, and she smiled before shaking it up and down. His hands were cold, but Bethany's hand felt like electricity and warmth had coursed into it when she touched him. She shivered at the contact.

"Friends," she agreed.

Kiel grinned, letting go of her hand. "We can leave for Jupiter City tomorrow. I already know the way."

"Tomorrow?" Bethany blanched. "But tomorrow's a _school_ day!"

"This is more important than school. We need to do this fast, before things get worse. We need to get you back with your fictional self. Tomorrow."

She still felt doubtful. "Okay . . . but you do hear how impossible that sounds, right? We can't just skip school! I'd be breaking so many rules. _So_ many. We need to be safe about this."

He rolled his eyes, then smirked. "Live a little, book-girl. I promise you'll be happy you made this decision."

"Okay," Bethany said, relenting. "We can meet at my house. At 8:00 in the morning, once I know for sure that my mom won't be home."

Kiel nodded. "Got it."

"And . . . this definitely isn't a joke? Because if it is, I'm —"

He cut her off. "No, it's not. You want to be my friend now, remember? You said in your letter that you wouldn't try backing out of anything."

She nodded, internally yelling at herself for adding that part into her letter. She'd felt so guilty, and she wanted more than anything to be his friend again, that was true. Even if it meant doing something she didn't really believe was real. Even if it meant doing something she was _afraid_ to believe in.

But she didn't care less about all that now. What mattered was Kiel, and as long as she stopped feeling so guilty about the things she'd told him a month ago, this would all be worth it.

"Once it's all over tomorrow, and once you rejoin with yourself, you'll be thanking me," Kiel assured her, giving her a wink. "Really, you _will_ be."

Bethany laughed at that. "We'll see about that."

Kiel laughed too. It was music to her ears, and it melted the icy exterior that had grown around her heart within the past month. "It's true! _You'll_ see about that." He then raised an eyebrow. "8:00 tomorrow, right?"

"Right," she confirmed, then added, "And don't make me regret skipping school!"

He only grinned in response. Bethany would've been lying if she said her face hadn't nearly broken in half from smiling so much. After hardly cracking a real, genuine smile during the month of January, her face was still getting used to the change. For the first time in a while, things felt good. _Really_ good. The rights had been wronged, and a sense of peace overcame her. She concluded that she had made the right choice by apologizing to him, after all. She was done with being miserable.

* * *

In a rush, Kiel had explained his plan last night. First, they'd travel to Jupiter City. Then, once they found Bethany's fictional self, Bethany would rejoin with her. While Bethany understood most of what he planned to do, she was still both wary and confused about this entire thing. She simply didn't believe it, but she knew better than to tell Kiel that again. They'd already gone through that a month ago, and that had ended in chaos.

For now, she'd have to play along, even if she was afraid of what might happen. For all she knew, this could either be real or fake. Fake sounded like the most logical answer, but Kiel had full faith in what he believed was true. If he did, why would it be fake? After everything that had happened, there was a chance that it _was_ real. And the idea of that scared her. Was there really another version of her, a _fictional_ version? And she was supposed to . . . rejoin with her? What did that even mean? Was that even possible?

Despite her worries, she couldn't help but feel slightly excited about this. It wasn't every day that opportunities like this happened, and it certainly wasn't common for boys like Kiel to exist. She figured that she should just trust him. He was her friend now, and that was all that mattered.

By the time Bethany spotted Kiel arriving in front of her house she had a large combination of both adrenaline and nerves pounding through her. After waiting for a solid thirty minutes, Kiel had finally made it to her house, holding a bag and two sticks that almost resembled wands. Bethany hugged her bright red coat around her, trembling — both from nerves and the cold — on the porch.

"I hope you're right about all of this," she told him, clamoring down the steps and meeting him at the end of her driveway.

Kiel winked. "You can trust me. You don't need to hope. I _am_ right."

"Which way is this man's — I mean — Murray Chase's house?" Bethany asked him. The last thing she needed was to ring doorbells and ask if there were any middle-aged men who had a portal to a fictional world around at home.

He turned around in a circle, then pointed. "I think . . . that way. Yeah. He said it was a few neighborhoods past yours, somewhere called . . . Ditko Drive?"

Bethany nodded. "I think I might know where that is."

They walked out of the neighborhood and started across the sidewalk that lined the road, searching for Ditko Drive. They had been walking for quite some time before a sign caught Bethany's eye, and she pointed to it. "There it is!"

Kiel smiled as they rounded the corner. "Perfect."

The two continued walking, passing house after house in search of Murray Chase's residence. Bethany had no idea what to look for, given the fact that she'd never been to his house before. She didn't understand why her mother had hidden this from her. Why not tell her about Murray? It seemed like they used to be good friends, after all.

Suddenly, Kiel shouted, "That's his house!"

Bethany gave him a quizzical look, then tried to follow where he was staring. "What? Where?"

"The one on the end of the street," he said, releasing a cloud of fog from his mouth. She glanced over to see a tall, thin house squished in the middle of two normal-sized buildings. Compared to the other houses in the neighborhood, looked more like a tiny apartment building than a house.

As they neared Murray's house, Kiel glanced around them to check if anyone was watching, then clambered up the steps. Bethany's eyes widened, and she ran after him. "Wait, you can't be serious. I think you're taking this too far. Common sense tells me we shouldn't break into this guy's house. That's completely illegal! He's a friend of my mom's, but still! You don't even _know_ him."

"It'll be fine," Kiel assured her. "I already talked to him about this, and he said I could come over." Then he looked at her and winked. "You'll understand everything once we get to Jupiter City."

Butterflies swirled in Bethany's stomach. She stepped back, still very doubtful and on edge about this entire situation. Even if he believed it was real, Kiel was going too far with this. "I still think that maybe —"

Before she could finish her sentence, Kiel knocked loudly on the door. "Hello? Mr. Chase? It's me, Kiel! I'm here with Bethany!"

Bethany whispered something inappropriate under her breath. _Crap,_ she thought. There was no way she was getting out of this now. She watched with baited breath as Kiel knocked again on the door. As far as she could hear, there weren't any noises coming from inside.

"Are you sure he's here?" she asked after a minute of waiting in silence.

Kiel looked confused. "I thought he would be. He _said_ he would be." He knocked again, just for good measure, but no one answered. Then, he tried the handle on the door. It was locked. "Okay," he said, turning to Bethany. "Plan B. We need to find another way in. The easiest way would be the door. Or maybe the lowest window. But then again, we don't want to attract too much attention. Just in case the nonfictional police show up." He winked again.

" _Police_?" Bethany nearly shouted. "No, _no way._ I can't get into trouble."

Kiel put a finger to her lips, then removed his hand and pulled two thin black sticks from his belt. He murmured a few words, and then a golden light exploded from the tip, plowing straight into the door. When the smoke cleared, all that remained of the door were several wooden chunks.

Bethany could only stare in shock, her mind refusing to accept what she'd just seen. She looked back and forth from the sticks in Kiel's hands — wands, she guessed — to the remains of the door. Wordlessly, she looked at Kiel. "You — what? You just destroyed that door! You . . . you're _actually_ Kiel Gnomenfoot?"

"The one and only," Kiel said, giving her a grin. He fitted his hand into her's, pulling her into the house as she continued to feel shell-shocked. "Yikes. Too bad he's going to have to get a new door. I guess I should use a repairing spell when we get back. C'mon, let's find that manhole he told me about."

"What manhole?" she asked, finally shaking herself out of her daze enough to look around. She felt like an intruder in someone else's home. Which she was.

"He said it was in his basement. It's a portal to Jupiter City."

"A portal," Bethany repeated quietly, shaking her head. "Makes sense." She started to follow him, but then, she saw something that made her blood turn cold.

On the wall facing the door was a photo of two men and a woman, all three adults smiling at the camera as they stood behind a group of kids surrounding a birthday cake. The adults were her father, Murray, and her mother. Behind them, a banner read, "Happy Fourth Birthday, Bethany!"

"What's wrong?" Kiel asked, glancing back at her.

She couldn't respond. Her eyes were locked on the picture, which she had never seen until now. Her heart constricted painfully, and for a moment, she couldn't breathe. This had been the night her father died. It had been the night he'd left Bethany and her mother for good.

But maybe . . . if Kiel was telling the truth after all . . . she'd see her father again. That was one thing to look forward to, right? Unless this all ended up being a game. But given how dedicated Kiel was to this, she doubted it was.

"Oh," Bethany heard Kiel say in a quiet voice, making her jump. She had nearly forgotten he was there. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, bringing her back to reality. "Don't worry, you'll see your father soon. He's in Jupiter City."

Bethany turned to look at him with a pained expression. "Are you _sure_ he is?"

He started to nod, then stopped. "I . . . I think so. I've never been there, but that's what I've heard from your fictional self and Mr. Chase. I hope he is."

"Okay," she said quietly, tearing herself away from the picture. She dropped Kiel's hand and walked through the living room, which was narrow and cramped with a large pillow-covered sofa that took up much of the space. Drawings littered the walls, most of them looking like comic book art. Some of it Bethany didn't recognize, but she could recall several of the drawings as of Doc Twilight. Murray hadn't been lying when he said he was the artist of the _Doc Twilight_ comics.

Silently, she exited the room and stopped in front of a staircase that led both up and down. From what she could see, there was a kitchen upstairs, which meant that the stairs leading down must lead to the basement. She looked back at Kiel, who was making his way towards her. "That must be his basement, where the manhole is."

"I'll go first," he said, then edged past her, starting down the stairs. The stairs led to a closed door, and Kiel curled his hand around it, opening it without much difficulty. He flashed a grin at Bethany. "That was easy. You'd think he'd keep his door locked!"

"Most people don't lock their basement door," Bethany said, then gave him a pointed look. "Well, they _usually_ don't have to. But now that you've broken into his house without his permission, he might think otherwise."

"I already told you that he gave me permission," Kiel said, opening the door to reveal a pitch-black room. Bethany squeezed in next to him and felt her hand around for a light switch. Her hand caught on something, and she flicked it up. The room was instantly illuminated, revealing another set of stairs that led to the basement below.

Slowly, she crept down the stairs, allowing her eyes to adjust to the bright room. Five glass cases were positioned around what looked like the manhole Kiel had mentioned. Inside the glass cases were superhero costumes, which were such high quality that Bethany assumed they were insanely expensive.

They walked to the middle of the room, Bethany silently observing everything while Kiel made comments about each of the costumes. "Wow, this guy should make _me_ a superhero outfit. I usually just wear the same thing all the time, but it _would_ be cool to have an upgrade."

Bethany snorted. "What, do you wear a cape, or something?"

"Obviously," he said, not looking at her. He stopped in front of the manhole and bent down to remove the chains that interlocked over it.

"Wait!" she hissed, grabbing his arm to pull him back. "We're going down _there_? That doesn't look safe, Kiel. We need to listen to common sense."

"Don't worry. It's not going to kill us. It'll take us to Jupiter City," Kiel said, flashing her a wink. He turned back to the manhole and tugged on the chains again, but they didn't budge. "Huh."

Bethany knelt down next to him and scanned the manhole. In one corner of it, she saw that the chains all joined together under a number pad. "There's a number pad," she said, pointing to it. "That'll probably open it."

Kiel's eyes followed to where she was pointing, but instead of typing a code into it, he stood up and took out his wand-knives. "Stand back."

She quickly stood up and scooted out of the way. "You're not going to blow that up, are you —"

Before she could finish her sentence, he said something under his breath. A bright light extended from the tips of his wand-knives and made contact with the number pad. The number pad exploded, and the chains underneath it fell away. Kiel grinned at Bethany, then pulled the manhole cover up and dragged it slowly to the side.

Instead of a ladder or a tunnel like Bethany was expecting, there was a blue circle of fire right underneath the manhole. She frowned. "I can't say I was expecting that. Figured there'd be something less . . . fiery."

Compared to her, Kiel looked underwhelmed. "I see this type of stuff all the time. Blue circles of fire? I can cast a spell that makes those."

He looked at her and smiled, seeing her worried expression. "I can go first, if you want. Not that there's anything to be afraid of. Just, you know, listen less to your head and more to your heart." With that, he slid his wand-knives into their sheaths and moved to the side of the manhole, dropping to the floor beside it. Before Bethany could protest, he pushed himself into the manhole, disappearing into the fiery pit.

"Kiel?" Bethany whispered, swallowing hard. Her eyes darted around the room, then back at the manhole. She took a deep breath and dropped to the floor, her anxiety heightening as she stared at the blue flames. She placed a hand on her chest and nodded to herself. "You can do this. Now _go_." Shutting her eyes, Bethany slid into the manhole, the blue fire instantly surrounding her body.

Before she knew it, she had landed hard on her stomach. She coughed from the sudden impact and picked herself up off the floor, rising unsteadily to her feet. She definitely wasn't in Murray Chase's house anymore.

The room was dimly lit, and the only thing that gave off light was a larger version of the blue fire, which stood straight up and down. There were machines everywhere, making the room look like some sort of futuristic laboratory. She walked over to Kiel, who was standing by a round bank-vault door. "Ready?" he asked.

"You really _were_ telling the truth," she said, giving him a bewildered look. "I can't believe we're . . . somewhere else. We're not even in a basement anymore. How is this possible? How is _any of it_ possible?"

He shrugged. "It just is. It might be harder for you to wrap your head around it, but that's only because you've been living with nonfictionals. See? I _told_ you you'd understand once we got here!" He laughed a little, then walked through the door. "Let's get going. I'm pretty sure Jupiter City will be this way. Your fictional self will most likely be fighting crime, from what I've heard."

Bethany followed him, her mind still whirling with thoughts. Somehow, they had teleported to an entirely new location. But that didn't mean they were in a book, right? After all, it was the least logical idea she'd ever come across. And if it was true that they had arrived in Jupiter City, that meant they were going to find Bethany's other self — her fictional version. She still couldn't fully wrap her head around it, and she didn't think she'd believe it until she saw it with her own eyes.

She was met with both a stunning and surprising sight. A curved glass window covered the entire wall in front of them, displaying a huge city — Jupiter City. Evening was falling across the city, and the tall buildings that dotted the view appeared black against the dusk sky.

Bethany hadn't been to many cities, but it didn't resemble anything she'd ever seen before. The various buildings were similar to those in New York or Chicago, but not a single one of them looked run-down at all. Instead, they were perfectly constructed, and even seemed to shine like a newly-washed car.

"It's beautiful," she heard Kiel say. She glanced over at him. He was busy staring at the view, his hands pressed up against the glass. She smiled a little bit, then looked away and did a quick scan of the hallway. There was an elevator several feet away from them, on the opposite end of the hallway. "Come on, let's take the elevator."

She marched over to it, Kiel following close behind her. She slammed her thumb into the button, then started twisting her hands nervously as she waited for it's arrival. Once the doors slowly creaked open, they walked through. Kiel pressed a button labeled "lobby", and immediately, they were sucked towards the ground at a speed faster than Bethany could interpret. Just like that, all of her thoughts flew out the window.

For the first ten seconds, she could only scream, staring with panicked eyes at Kiel who appeared to be having the time of his life. Then, as they passed floor two hundred, the elevator continued speeding up. In spite of herself, Bethany started to grin, enjoying the adrenaline rush that came with the fall. Although she was afraid of what might come when they hit the ground, it was still undeniably exciting. It wasn't something she'd ever experienced before.

"This is . . . kind of fun!" she shouted above the noise, suddenly unable to stop smiling.

"It is!" he yelled, his eyes filled with glee. "I _love_ danger, especially when the threat of death is involved!"

She laughed. "Okay, you're _definitely_ crazy."

Then, the elevator gently slowed to a stop, and the doors rolled open with a dinging sound. Still grinning, Bethany marched out of the room, her heart pounding rapidly in her chest. She looked at Kiel, who mirrored her expression. "That was _amazing_. And in spite of the danger, I was actually having fun! That never happened to me before."

Kiel winked at her. "It's happened more times than you think. Even still, I'm glad you aren't so worried anymore. I like to think that dangerous situations bring out the best in people."

"That's a strange motto to follow."

"It's true, though," he said. "You stop thinking and you just . . . do. When you're having the most fun, it's because you aren't worrying over every little thing that might happen. You're just living in the moment."

She opened her mouth to respond, but they pushed the double doors open, and she was only able to stare at the bustling city around them. The streets were filled with people, who were either rushing about or taking their time. It looked the same as any other city.

"Any idea where the . . . other version of me is?" Bethany asked Kiel, not fully wanting to know. Even after everything she'd seen so far, she was still skeptical about meeting her other half. The person she was more eager to see was her father, whom she hadn't seen since she was four years-old.

"She — I mean, _you_ — should be wherever the crime fighting is," he said. "Let's head downtown and find the darkest, most crime-ridden place here."

"That doesn't sound safe," Bethany muttered, but started walking with Kiel anyway. As they walked through the streets and the sky continued to darken, the night life only seemed to elevate. The crowd of people didn't dissipate, and everyone surrounding them seemed to be in an unusually good mood.

A half hour later, they reached a less crowded part of the city, where dogs barked and the buildings became more run-down. Across the street, Bethany heard faded voices. She looked over in the direction and spotted a large warehouse, with the door slightly ajar. There was one window, and she could see that the room inside was dimly lit.

She pointed it out to Kiel. "Think there's some crime going on in there?"

"There's only one way to find out," he said, then took off across the street. Bethany sighed and sprinted after him, narrowly avoiding getting hit by a passing car.

As they quietly walked up to the building, Bethany saw that there were several boxes laying around in an alleyway right next to the warehouse. She stopped, squinting her eyes in the dark to read what they said. The words were too difficult to read, but she could see the pictures on the top. They were fireworks.

"Kiel," she whispered, tapping his arm. "Look, there are tons of boxes of fireworks just laying around."

Kiel walked over to her and stared into the alley, his eyebrows knit in confusion. "What's a firework?"

"They're like . . . sparks of fire that are shot into the sky. They can form shapes. They're normally used for celebrations." She backed away, glancing at the warehouse. Cautiously, she walked to the door and pulled it open wide enough for both of them to look inside.

The warehouse was large, with many rows of shelves that were filled with boxes and other supplies. In the center of the room, hidden partially by a beam, was a group of men clustered around a table. They were arguing about something, their voices nearly raised to shouts. Then, one of the men said something, and the rest quieted down. They stood up and dispersed around the room, beginning to transport boxes that looked suspiciously filled with something dangerous.

"We need to be quiet for now," Kiel whispered, placing his hand against the door. "If we attract too much attention to ourselves, we won't be able to get her."

"'Her'?" Bethany repeated, wondering why she hadn't seen a sixth person among the criminals. Then, she looked up towards the ceiling, and that was when Bethany saw her. She wondered, with growing disbelief, how they had managed to find the right location. At the same time, she realized that this wasn't a dream. Her fictional self was right there. She existed.

The fictional version of Bethany was crouched in the rafters of the warehouse, staring silently down at the five men. After several long seconds of waiting, she pulled out a launcher and shot it at another rafter, swinging away without catching the notice of the men. In mid-air, she released the launcher and dropped straight to the floor, her bright purple cape settling around her as she landed feet-first without making much noise.

"I hope you're ready for a rematch," she growled to the first man who spotted her. The man gasped, dropping the box he was holding to the ground. "It's that Kid Twilight girl again! I see you aren't with your father this time, or that other sidekick of his. What, do you think you can handle all five of us better this time?"

"Okay, first of all: that's rude. It's Twilight _Girl._ Get it right. Second of all: I _said_ I was ready for a rematch."

With that, she flung her arm forwards, and a throwing star sailed at the man. The man quickly dodged, then charged at her, sending a punch to her face. She ducked. Without looking, she kicked him in the legs, sending him falling to the floor. Just as he hit the floor, another man came behind her and kicked her in the back. She stumbled forwards but quickly recovered, whipping around and sending a throwing star into the man's chest.

"She's amazing," Kiel breathed quietly, staring at the other girl with awe. Bethany side-eyed him, feeling strangely jealous. Why was she jealous of herself? They were technically the same person.

"Yeah, I guess," Bethany muttered, her arms crossed as they watched the fight continue. The rest of the men bounded over, and soon it became harder to see how well the fight was going. She was surrounded on all sides, but she still managed to fight back, using a long staff to defend herself. At one point, a man punched her in the face hard enough to send her skidding across the floor.

Bethany gasped, turning to look at Kiel. "We need to help her," she said, her voice raising with worry. "They're going to hurt her!"

Kiel motioned for her to keep quiet. "How about we use those fireworks?"

Bethany scrunched her nose. "Wasn't the point of this _not_ to attract attention? People will realize we're here."

"Exactly," he said, moving from the door and walking over to the alley. After a second more of watching her fictional self, she trailed after him. He grabbed a small box of fireworks from the ground. "I _want_ them to know we're here. The best way to break up a crime scene is to cause a distraction."

"This is a really bad idea," she told him, shaking her head. But she leaned down and picked up a box of fireworks anyway.

They crept into the warehouse, edging along the wall until they were mostly out of view. Luckily, the men were too busy with the other Bethany, so they didn't notice. Kiel placed his box on the floor, and Bethany did the same. Exchanging a look with her, he took out his wand-knives and murmured a spell. A spark of fire shot towards both firework boxes, causing the boxes to sizzle and hiss.

Bethany's eyes widened, and she grabbed Kiel's hand, moving them away as far as possible. Without warning, a loud noise blared from the boxes, and two fireworks plowed into the ceiling, sending sparks everywhere. Everything was quiet for a moment, only for two more fireworks to shoot outward, slamming into the shelves nearby.

"What's going on?" one of the men shouted above the noise, while the rest of them starting running frantically around the room, desperately trying to grab boxes as more and more fireworks destroyed the insides of the warehouse. A small fire had already started in the ceiling, and it was beginning to grow.

Kiel grabbed Bethany's hand, pulling her through the smoke and chaos. Both were coughing as they made it over to where fictional Bethany sat on the ground, looking deeply confused. With his other hand, Kiel yanked her off the floor. "Come on, let's get out of here!"

The fictional Bethany didn't protest. She ran along with them towards the exit, slightly more fatigued than they were. They sprinted through the wreckage of the building, the heat from the fire beginning to deep into Bethany's clothes. She was the first to make it outside. The other two were right behind her, and they all stumbled to catch their breath.

Before any of the men could escape, Bethany slammed the metal door shut, locking it into place. She wiped the sweat off her forehead, still coughing from the smoke that filled her lungs. All of the sudden, Kiel let out a choked laugh. "That worked out much better than I thought it would."

The fictional Bethany looked at him in surprise, as if just realizing he was there. "Kiel? What are you doing here?"

"To reunite you with your nonfictional self," he said, gesturing to Bethany. The fictional Bethany looked over at her, then gasped, looking just as shocked as Bethany felt. "Wait, you're _real_? You're . . . me?"

Bethany forced herself to nod, feeling suddenly light-headed. "Yeah. I just learned much of the same thing. I didn't realize you actually existed until now, though. I still can hardly believe it."

"So Kiel was telling the truth?" fictional Bethany asked, turning back to Kiel.

He nodded. "I already went through this with both of you, but neither of you really believed me. Now that you see I'm right, though, we really should get going. You need to rejoin yourself as soon as possible."

"Why?" fictional Bethany pressed, crossing her arms. "I don't see why we need to. We've obviously been fine on our own."

"Yeah, it looks like we have," Bethany observed. "But . . . Kiel said something bad would happen if we don't rejoin ourselves. Plus, we've apparently lost our memories. I'm still not sure if I believe that could be the case, but don't you want to get those back?"

Fictional Bethany frowned, looking down. "I don't know. I mean, all I know are my memories of being here, in Jupiter City. I've been a superhero ever since I can remember."

"Your life does sound pretty cool," Bethany reasoned. "Although, I think it would be logical if we trusted Kiel. He's come a long way to do this for me. It wouldn't make sense if we didn't try."

Fictional Bethany bit her lip, then slowly nodded. "Okay. I . . . I guess you're right. We should try."

Both girls looked at Kiel, who winked at them. "Let's do this. But we shouldn't do it here. We should go back to the nonfictional world through the portal, just in case Nobody tries to stop us."

Still feeling hesitant, Bethany agreed with some reluctance. She could tell that her fictional self wasn't too excited about this ether, but deep in her heart, she knew it was something that had to be done. As they walked back towards the way they came, Bethany shared her life story with her fictional self, who in turn did the same. As it turned out, they had completely different lives, and her fictional self seemed to have a very different personality compared to her. Bethany wondered how on earth they could be the same person. They were complete opposites. How was it possible that they used to be one girl?

By the time the moon was glistening brightly in the sky, they'd made it back to the laboratory. The blue circle of fire was still there, slightly blinding Bethany's vision. She looked at Kiel, who smiled at both of them before jumping straight through the portal, disappearing as soon as he did so.

Bethany took a deep, shaky breath, then turned to her fictional self. "I don't know if I'm ready. I'm more scared than I've ever been in my whole life. Is this the right thing to do?"

"It has to be," fictional Bethany said, staring at her in the darkness. "I'm not thrilled about this either, but as much as I hate to admit it . . . I think that we need each other. I think that we can help each other."

"I can't argue with that," Bethany said with a sigh. "I'm just not used to diving straight into things, especially things that I'm unsure of. I know that this seems like the logical thing to do, but I'm still doubtful."

"I have my doubts, too," fictional Bethany replied quietly. "I'm pretty much the exact opposite of you. I jump into danger without thinking, and I guess that isn't always the smartest thing to do." She smiled a little bit. "You're right about what you said earlier. We need to try. If this works, maybe we can feel more like ourselves again. Who we used to be, I mean."

Bethany nodded and smiled back. "Sounds like a good plan. For what it's worth, I hope this does work. And I hope that I remember what I've been missing."

"Me too," her fictional self said. She looked over at the blue flames. "Ready for this?"

"Well, I guess I'll have to be," Bethany said, tilting her head. She watched as her fictional self ran towards it and jumped inside, not hesitating for a second. Steeling herself, Bethany shook out her worries and charged towards the portal, her eyes closing instinctively before she made contact with the flames.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself back in the basement of Murray Chase's house. Her fictional self and Kiel were standing next to the manhole, waiting for her.

"This is it," her fictional self breathed, straightening the mask on her face. Bethany grimaced and looked away from her fictional self, her eyes searching Kiel's.

He put his hands on her shoulders in a comforting manner, staring down at her without a hint of doubt in his eyes. "Trust me, it'll be okay, Bethany."

"I hope so," she whispered. He backed away to stand next to one of the glass cases, giving them space. Bethany slowly walked up to her fictional self. She forced a strained smile. "Ready?"

Her fictional self nodded, looking just as nervous. "Yeah. Let's do it."

"This going to hurt," Bethany said, inwardly wincing. Before she could back herself out of it, her fictional self grabbed her hand. The pain that followed wasn't like anything she'd ever experienced. As their fingers slowly merged into one, the pressure increased, causing Bethany to cry out in pain.

"I can't believe it's working!" Bethany's fictional self said, appearing to be in just as much pain. "Don't let go," she added, then pushed herself more forcefully into Bethany. Their arms slowly merged into each other, followed by their shoulders. There was a lingering burning sensation in Bethany's body that made her nearly scream, but she held it in, focusing only on the task at hand.

The pain heightened as they merged at a snail's pace, but as they continued, Bethany found it more bearable. At last, it was finished. Their bodies and minds fully joined back together, becoming a whole person. For the first time in three years, things felt _right_.

When the pain fully dissipated, Bethany glanced at Kiel, who was looking at her as if he'd just won the lottery. "Welcome back."

She grinned, then stumbled as three Kiel's appeared in her vision. She had only a second to feel confused before she swayed and fell against one of the glass cases. She cried out as a sudden pain filled the back of her head. She tried her best to catch herself, but instead fell the rest of the way to the floor. She scooted backward and leaned her body against the case, feeling too tired to stand. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears.

Kiel got on his knees and gripped her by the hands, his eyes large. "Beth? Beth!"

Bethany coughed weakly, staring at him in a daze. His face grew blurrier, and she blinked rapidly. She felt so tired all of the sudden. She felt a huge weight on her body, but she couldn't see anything there. Her eyes fluttered closed, and the pitch-blackness was blissful compared to the loud noises she was hearing all around her.

"Bethany? Can you hear me?" His voice was like an echo from far away. She felt his hand cupping her face for a few seconds, then moving to her shoulder and shaking her. With his other hand, he squeezed her hand hard, prompting her to bring her focus back to the present. Bethany's eyes slowly opened again, and she saw a blurry Kiel. She moved her lips to say something, but nothing came out.

"Can you hear me?" Kiel asked again. She tried to nod, but she was so exhausted that she wasn't entirely sure if he saw.

"Beth?" He shook her gently. "Bethany, keep your eyes open. You can't pass out right now. You need water. You just rejoined yourself."

Bethany forced her body to move, weakly lifting her arms and gripping his hands, clinging to him like a lifeline. He sighed in relief and carefully helped her sit up, a bright smile appearing on his face. She trained her eyes on him, memorizing the structure of his face. Her eyes were still glazed, and everything in her vision was blurry and out of focus, like the smudged lens on a camera.

"Can you stand?" Kiel asked softly, putting a hand on her back to support her. Slowly, she nodded and moved to push herself off the floor. As soon as she did, her vision went hazy and spots danced before her eyes. Her legs wobbled beneath her, causing her to fall to the ground.

She heard Kiel shout in surprise, then grunt as he caught her dead-weight in his arms. When Bethany managed to open her eyes again, he had two arms around her torso and was struggling to pull her off the ground. She put an arm around his neck and managed to get her feet beneath her, making it easier for him to move her. She slowly stood, leaning heavily on Kiel. She was still dizzy, but he somehow managed to not let her fall.

"You alright?" he asked. She forced herself to nod. With some difficulty, they hobbled up the stairs and out of Murray Chase's empty house. As they walked outside, Kiel muttered something about fixing the door. In her dazed state, Bethany barely heard him. The February air was cold as it sank into her bones. With some effort, they made it to the bottom of the porch steps, and Kiel paused for a moment to catch his breath.

Bethany felt a little less exhausted now, and her head felt much clearer than it had in three years. That was when it finally hit her: she was herself again. Her full self. Bethany Sanderson, half-fictional girl.

"Kiel?" she whispered, her mouth dry.

He glanced over at her, then smiled. "Hey, Beth. How're you feeling? Any better?"

"I'm not sure," Bethany said, feeling too tired to explain herself. "Where are we going?"

"Your house."

"My mom. Is she . . . ?"

Kiel shook his head. "She isn't home. Don't worry. You have a long time to rest. We need to get you some water."

"Water," she agreed. She wanted to thank him for the millions of things he had done for her, but she didn't have the energy to say more. She briefly half-closed her eyes again, forcing herself to take steps to keep up with Kiel as he started walking again.

They slowly navigated their way towards the backyard of a nearby house, which kept them hidden from view of anyone who was possibly watching. Kiel retrieved a button from his pocket and pressed it, holding onto her tightly with one hand. The world around them faded away, replacing itself with Bethany's room.

Bethany glanced up at him, giving him a weary smile. "I've missed teleporting."

Kiel smiled back, then helped her over to her bed, not letting her go until he was certain she wouldn't fall over. "I'll be right back," he said, then hurried out of the room.

Yawning, Bethany closed her eyes and leaned her head back against her pillows. She felt strangely relaxed, and another wave of exhaustion washed over her. Her breathing slowed, and the noises around her faded away. She hadn't even released she'd fallen asleep until she woke up several hours later to Kiel sitting on her bed and a glass of water on her nightstand. Groggily, she sat up and reached for the water, bringing it to her lips and taking large gulps of it. When she was done, she set it on her bedside table and leaned back against the pillows, looking over at Kiel.

"You have to tell me everything," Bethany ordered. "And don't leave anything out. How did you get here, to the real world? How did you do _any_ of this?"

Kiel adjusted his position on the bed, leaning his head on his hand as he studied her. "I guess it started three years ago. I saw your fictional self in my world, and I realized you must've been separated. I didn't know of any other way to get to the nonfictional world, so I created a spell. It took me a long time . . . but I had help."

"And you didn't remember magic, either," Bethany said, realization dawning on her. "How did you . . . ?"

"I started re-learning it when I came back to my world," Kiel said. "Actually, I even found a new teacher. His name is Abdo. But shortly after I found your fictional self, Nobody captured me and took me to his . . . prison. I don't really know what else to call it. It was this white nothingness all around me. There was no sound. Time was frozen, or so it seemed. I didn't even know how long I was there. It felt like days. It could've been months."

Bethany felt horrified for him, as well as mad at Nobody for kidnapping her friends. It seemed to be a habit of his. "Nobody _kidnapped_ you? How did you escape?"

"A group of pirates were rescuing people. They somehow had found a way to move their ship in and out of Nobody's prison. That's how I met Elijah, actually."

"Who's Elijah?" she asked, feeling suddenly very lost. How much had she missed?

"Oh, that's right. You haven't officially met him, now that I think about it." Kiel scratched his head. "He helped me with my spell research, and he's a good friend of mine. When I met him, he was indebted to the pirate captain, and he wasn't allowed to see his family for thirty years!"

"I can't imagine that," Bethany said quietly. In all honesty, she really couldn't. Being separated from her dad for years had been agony — but being separated from both her mom _and_ dad for thirty years? That would be torture.

"I made him come with me to Magisteria. I gave him the choice, of course, but we didn't have much time to decide."

She nodded. "Because Nobody would find out, right?"

"Yeah. And he did," Kiel said. "Once we'd finished rescuing everyone, we went outside to this field of portals. You should've seen it. There were thousands of them. They were all portals that led to different worlds . . . the _fictional_ worlds. Everyone was looking for their own portal when Nobody showed up and started putting people back into his prison."

Bethany shivered. "So after that . . . you created the spell for three years? Couldn't you have searched it up in your spell book?"

Kiel shook his head. "I tried that a few times, but it didn't work. I had to research about it instead. I learned everything I could. I even took some trips across Magisteria and Quanterium to gain more knowledge about magic. If I were doing it all by myself . . . I probably would've gone crazy. Once I had the spell written, I used it to get to your world. That's how I'm here now."

She was in a state of shock. "I can't believe you did _all_ of that, and you _still_ stayed after everything my nonfictional self put you through. Just to reunite my two halves. Kiel, I know I apologized before, but I'm _so_ sorry. Everything I said to you was horrible."

He gave her a smile. "It's water under the bridge. Don't blame yourself for it. You didn't remember me. I couldn't give up, though. That's why I stayed. The only way to defeat Nobody and save the fictional world is for you to be whole, and now you are!"

Bethany sat up straighter. "Wait — defeat Nobody? Didn't you say earlier that he was _destroying_ the fictional world?"

"With his pure possibility, yes."

She pushed herself out of bed. "Then we need to find a way to defeat him right away, before he wins. We'll make a plan, get our friends, then we'll fight him together. I'll need to get Gwen, and Charm, and Orion, and Ow— Wait . . ." She looked past him, then turned around in a circle. " _Where's Owen_?"

Kiel winced, sliding off the bed and onto his feet. "I don't know."

"You don't _know?_ " Bethany demanded. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"Ever since I got here, Owen has been missing. I assumed you would know where he was once you got your memories back."

She swallowed hard, her mind running in circles. She tried to search her brain for answers, but had no clue where he could be. "I . . . I have no idea."

Kiel frowned. "Okay, _that's_ not good. We have to find him. He has to be somewhere in the nonfictional world. Where was the place you saw him?"

"In my dad's comic book," Bethany said quietly. "Charm gave him these time powers, but he vanished after she gave him them. He somehow could communicate with me while I was there. He warned me about bad things that he saw in the future. But that was the last time I saw him. After that, I turned into light to save my dad. It was the only way to turn him back to normal."

Kiel nodded in understanding. "You did the right thing. By the way, you'll need to show me those powers of yours later. I heard that Charm gave you shapeshifting powers."

She blinked. "You did? From who?"

"Gwen."

How had Kiel met _Gwen_? She pointed a finger at him. "You'll have some explaining to do later."

He winked. "I plan to. Either way, for now we need to focus on finding Owen. But he's nowhere. Even his mom doesn't have a clue. Where could he be?"

Bethany was silent for a moment, and then reached under her bed and pulled out the thick book that her nonfictional self had been reading for the past few months. She showed it to him. "I didn't know at first . . . but I think I do now."

"' _Pick The Plot_ ,'" he read aloud. He took the book from her and studied the cover. Unmistakably, a drawing of Owen was on it. "He's in here! He's been in here the whole time! If I had known, I would've gotten to him sooner. This whole time, I thought he was in the nonfictional world. But he wasn't."

Bethany quickly stood up, her expression hard. "Hand me the book. We need to get him out of there."

"Bethany."

"Give me it!"

He looked down. "What if Nobody killed him? He said he would kill _me_ if I disobeyed him. I'm not sure if he really meant it, but what if he did it to Owen?"

She shook her head. "He wouldn't. He couldn't have done that. This is a _Pick The Plot_ book. That means that the readers choose certain actions the characters do. Nobody wouldn't be that cruel. Owen has been controlled by the readers, including even me, for three years! He's been trapped in here. We need to get him out, Kiel! He's—"

Kiel walked over to her, grabbed her by the hands in an effort to calm her down. She was on the verge of tears, feeling both furious and upset. Panic bubbled to the surface, leaving no room for anything else. She _had_ to find Owen. _She had to._

What if Owen was hurt? No, scratch that. She already knew that he was. But if he was dead? She didn't know that for sure. Life without him was unimaginable, but now that she'd lived for three years without him she could see how badly her decisions had led her. Despite his easily excited nature, _he_ was often the one who knocked common sense into her, not the other way around. Despite his crazy ideas that got them into trouble, he still tended to be less reckless than Bethany. Without him here, it felt like something was missing. And something was.

If she never found Owen, who would obsess over books and comics? Besides Liz's house, where would she spend her sleepovers at? Who would draw Charm in class while Bethany pretended not to notice? _Who?_ There was no one else. No one but Owen could fill that gap, which hadn't been whole for three entire years. She just hadn't been aware of it until now. She missed her best friend so much that it hurt.

"Beth," Kiel said, snapping her out of her trance. She looked at him with wide eyes, clinging to his surprisingly soft hands. "We're going to get him right away. But first we need to have a plan. He's locked in this huge time prison, and if he hasn't been able to escape yet . . . well, we know why."

Bethany nodded a few times, glancing down at their joined hands. Her hands felt tingly and hot at his touch. "Yeah, he is. We need to take Nobody down. He's been ruining our lives and I've had enough of it."

Despite the dark situation, he grinned. "There's the Bethany I know. You never give up. That's what I love —" He stopped himself before he could say anything else. "I mean, um, that's what _everyone . . ._ that's what everyone loves about you."

Giving her a shy, embarrassed smile, he quickly let go of her hands. He leaned down to pick the book up again, fumbling with it a few times before he could get a good grip on it. Bethany stared at him, her own face heating up. Never — not once — had she ever seen him fumble. Even getting embarrassed was against his nature.

"Bethany!" her mother called from downstairs. "Dinner's ready!"

She froze. Her mother was never home early, except if something bad happened. Usually, Bethany cooked her own food, ate leftovers, or ordered food from a nearby restaurant. Her mother being home early meant she was in a state of sadness; it was something Bethany had seen too many times to count.

What set her off was always something that reminded her of Bethany's father; sometimes it was a word, and other times it was the color of Bethany's hair, which was the same color as her father's. But soon, after she rescued Owen, she'd bring her father home too, and the wrongs would be righted. Her mother would feel so overjoyed that she would have no room in her heart to be angry at Bethany for jumping into books. At least, that's what she hoped.

"Okay!" Bethany yelled. She looked back at Kiel, who was staring down at _Pick The Plot_ , looking eager to jump right in. She couldn't blame him. She felt the exact same way, and she was itching to have Owen back already. "Meet me at my house. Tomorrow night after school."

He met her eyes, observing her with a serious, tight-lipped expression. "Wouldn't miss it."

"Good." They stood there for a moment in silence, gazing at each other, before Kiel moved to open the door.

"See you at school?"

Bethany smiled. "Of course. And don't forget that you're still a German exchange student."

"Trust me, I haven't forgotten." He grimaced. "I'd better go look on your-tube —"

"You mean YouTube?"

"— for more language videos. Those have been helpful so far."

Bethany almost laughed at the idea of Kiel researching how to speak and sound German. It was something she had never expected him to do, but it was a smart move on his part to hide his identity. She watched as he pulled his gray, wool coat on and buried his hair under a hat, and momentarily she took notice of how good he looked when he wasn't wearing his regular clothes. Well, the clothes he wore when he was a boy magician in the fictional world.

"Bethany!" her mother yelled, walking over to the bottom of the steps. "Bethany? When are you coming down?"

"One minute!" she shouted, ushering Kiel down the stairs. "Just saying goodbye."

"Oh!" Bethany's mother took a step back in surprise as they came downstairs. "I didn't know your friend was here. I haven't seen you here in years! Kiel, isn't it?"

"Yes, Mrs. Sanderson," he said, smiling politely.

"I'm sorry about my daughter. She's never very reliable when I call her for a meal. Do you want to stay for dinner?"

He glanced back and forth between Bethany and her mom, looking perplexed. "Um . . ."

"He would love to, but he can't," Bethany interjected, elbowing him in the stomach. "Right, Kiel?"

"No," he said, throwing an annoyed look at Bethany. "Actually, I'm free. My, uh . . . family is out of town tonight, so I was going to order some food. But thank you for inviting me! I'd love to stay."

"Okay, great!" Bethany's mother exclaimed, smiling. "I can't believe your family would leave you at home. Do they not know how to take care of their children?" She scoffed.

Kiel shook his head. "They had an important dinner. I wanted to stay home anyway."

She stared at him in disbelief for a second longer before clasping her hands together and offering them a smile. "Well, I made some chicken casserole. It'll be ready in a couple of minutes. I need to go set up the dishes first."

She walked back into the kitchen, humming a tune to herself. The second she was out of sight, Bethany narrowed her eyes and turned to face Kiel. Angrily, she whispered, "What are you doing?"

"Why can't I stay for dinner?" Kiel asked in a hushed tone, looking slightly offended.

Bethany crossed her arms. "I didn't think you'd want to."

"Well, I don't have any money. I can't use magic to make food."

"Wouldn't the food be tastier that way?"

"That's not a word," he pointed out, then shrugged. "But, I don't know. I'd rather eat real, cooked food."

"Fine. You can stay," she said. "But you can't mention anything about what we're doing." She looked away, feeling a pang of guilt. "She can't . . . she _can't_ know. She'll ground me forever."

"I won't," Kiel vowed. "But I hope you don't keep this a secret forever, Beth. She's your mom."

"After I get Owen back, defeat Nobody, and bring my dad home — _then_ she can know. But until then, I'm not telling her."

"Okay, it's ready." Bethany's mother walked out of the kitchen again, arms folded across her chest. She had a smug, teasing expression on her face. "Are you two just friends, or is this a date, now?"

Bethany face-palmed, and Kiel quickly shook his head, laughing. "No, we're only friends."

"Yeah, Mom," a red-faced Bethany said, glaring at her mother.

Her mother only laughed, analyzing them for longer than Bethany would've liked. "Okay. Well, who's hungry for dinner?"

"I am," they both said in unison, a little too quickly. They exchanged a look, Bethany feeling more irritated than embarrassed now. Kiel raised his eyebrows and followed Bethany's mother into the kitchen, leaving her alone in the hallway. This was _so_ not going accordingly. Her mother tended to ask a lot of questions, and she was annoyed that Kiel even wanted to eat dinner with them in the first place. Why couldn't he just make food with magic?

Bethany grumbled something unintelligible as she entered the kitchen, still feeling slightly groggy after having just rejoined hours before. Kiel and her mother were already seated across from each other, so she slid into a seat next to her mother.

"How was school today?" her mother asked, dishing a piece of casserole onto her plate.

"Good. Nothing too eventful." She met Kiel's eyes and gave him a warning look to not say anything. Her mother couldn't know that she had skipped school today, nonetheless to find her fictional self and rejoin her two halves. After explaining that, she'd have to go even further and explain her years of searching for her father in books. She probably would be grounded for the rest of her life. So, if asked, she would pretend that nothing had happened.

"That's very vague. How was your history test?"

Her heart skipped a beat. She had forgotten that was today! "Actually, it went well. It was mostly an essay portion."

"See?" Her mother smiled, nodding in understanding. "When I ask you how your day was, I want you to spare me no details. I'm barely home early as it is!"

She gulped and began putting some food onto her plate, avoiding her mother's eyes. "I know. I will."

"So, Kiel. Do you and Bethany have many classes together?"

Kiel shook his head. "We have only our English class together."

"Oh, that's a shame," Bethany's mother said, taking a bite of food. "Well, I'm glad you became friends again. When you and Owen stopped hanging out with Bethany three years ago, I assumed you weren't friends anymore."

" _Mom_ ," Bethany groaned, shooting her a look. Her mother sighed loudly in response, but obeyed, going back to her meal. Across the table, Kiel winked at her. Her irritation fading, Bethany smiled in response before placing another warm piece of food into her mouth.

After dinner, the two of them walked outside, and Bethany shut the front door behind them to prevent her mother from eavesdropping. It was almost pitch black outside, and as always, there was a chill in the air. Kiel held _Pick The Plot_ in his hands. "Mind if I borrow this? I want to know what Owen's been going through, and I figured we should see what we're up against."

"Sure, but read fast," Bethany told him. "Think you can finish it by tomorrow?"

"Are you underestimating my ability to read a book?"

She smiled. "Maybe."

A plan formulated in her head, and she let the smile slip from her face. "We'll jump into a page where we won't get caught. It might be better if he's outside of that prison, though. Last time I read it was last night, and he was outside in the jungle. Either way, we grab Owen and get out of there as fast as possible. And maybe we'll even see a real dinosaur while we're at it."

"Aren't dinosaurs just dragons without wings?"

"No. They don't breathe fire!"

Kiel chuckled. "That sounds like a good plan. So, tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow night," she confirmed. "Time to get Owen back."

Despite the dark, Bethany knew Kiel was smiling. And so was she.

* * *

" _If you're ready, heart is open. I'll be waiting. Come find me . . ."_


	16. Home

_**Thousand Miles (by Tove Lo)**_

 _"_ _Coming for you babe, I'm coming now. That's when I run all of these thousand miles to get you back . . ."_

* * *

Bethany had forgotten what it was like to be herself, and this new feeling of wholeness was taking some getting used to. It was comparable to trying on high heels for the first time, or when she first got her hair cut a few inches shorter. In time, the feeling would fade, and she would feel completely normal again. Her two perspectives of the world had changed, and instead of being kept separate, they were joined together.

Despite this strange feeling, she couldn't be more grateful that her memories had returned. Now that she had her real memories, along with the memories she'd gotten from both her fictional and nonfictional selves, she spent a lot of time thinking over everything that had happened within the past three years. Getting split into two halves meant forgetting who she was, and she forgot what was important. She never wanted that to happen ever again.

As Bethany got ready for school that morning, it took all of her willpower not to run to the library, right then and there. She was done with her rules, and she didn't care whether she got into trouble or not. Those things didn't hold as much importance compared to Owen's safety. She _had_ to get him out of that horrible place.

She couldn't imagine how traumatic it must've been for him, trying to fight his way out of the book when there was no way he could've escaped without her help. Most of all, she felt guilty. She should've saved him before any of this happened. She should've tried going back for him when he first went missing, back in her father's comic book. Then again, her, Charm, and Gwen were on a time crunch to find her father, but Owen had been in danger. Her father could've waited if it meant taking a quick detour to save her best friend from Nobody.

When she was finished getting ready for the day, she was tempted to sprint to the library and borrow a copy of _Pick The Plot_ to jump into, since Kiel was currently borrowing her's. More than anything, she wanted to throw the book open and jump straight in without a second thought. It was tempting, and it would give her some peace to see Owen again. If she started running to the library now, this could all be over within a few minutes.

But no, Bethany couldn't do it. She had promised Kiel that they'd do this together, and she knew how important this was to him, too. As much as she resented the idea, she'd have to wait until tonight.

Ditching her idea, she hurried down the stairs, her mind dancing with thoughts about Owen. She couldn't wait to see him again, and she figured he would also have a lot of questions pertaining what had happened. She would have many questions, too, but mostly, all she wanted to do was hug her best friend after three antagonizing years of separation. She wouldn't rest until he was safe.

All because of Nobody's plans, Owen had been trapped in a time prison in the fictional world — without Bethany even knowing! It made her even more furious, and she hated the faceless man with every fiber of her being. He had taken Owen from her, caused Kiel to suffer, and he'd separated her into two halves against her own free will. Once she returned Owen back safe and sound, she was ready to punch some justice _hard_ , right into the middle of Nobody's nonexistent face.

Tonight couldn't come any sooner.

Bethany forced herself to do what she normally did in the morning: eat breakfast, walk to the bus stop, and distract herself on the thirty minute ride to school. She hadn't even arrived at school yet and she was itching to get home already. School was necessary, but at times it felt like a curse. Why did she have to spend her entire day here when she could spend it in _Pick The Plot_ , rescuing Owen?

Before she knew it, she found herself jumping off the bus and bolting to her locker, earning several strange looks from students around her. She barely noticed them, as she was too preoccupied with her worries and thoughts.

After the fifth frustrating try, Bethany finally managed to yank her locker open. Yeah, this whole "rejoined" thing would take some getting used to. It felt as if her memories from her fictional and nonfictional selves were scrambled together, and she couldn't decipher them just yet. On top of it all, she had so much adrenaline that she was ready to sprint home the second school ended.

"Bethany!" a girl's voice said from behind her, as she was on her way to English class. It was Liz. "Where were you at school yesterday? I didn't see you."

"I was at home," Bethany said, after a second of hesitation. "Sick."

She inwardly cringed. She'd completely forgotten all about Liz, who her nonfictional self had believed was her closest and only friend. Now, even though she still considered Liz her friend, Owen obviously filled that role of "best friend". But now that she was rejoined again, Bethany knew better than to tell Liz about her half-fictional powers; if she remembered correctly, Liz had a wider range of friends whom she tended to gossip to. If Liz happened to expose Bethany's secret . . . that'd be it. That would be the end of Bethany ever trusting anyone with her secrets.

Telling any other nonfictional person besides Owen, Bethany concluded, just didn't seem like the smart thing to do. She'd already gone through that problem once when Owen had found out about her powers, which increased the risk of him telling others. Luckily, he hadn't told anyone else, which had been surprising at the time, but she was glad he hadn't. Trusting him with her secret was the best thing she'd ever done, but the same couldn't be said for someone else.

Unless the situation called for it, Bethany wouldn't tell another soul about her being half-fictional. What would a normal person think if they knew about her powers? They'd have questions, and they would force her to do things against her will, like make her take them into Harry Potter or something. Maybe they'd even conduct experiments on her, like in the movies Bethany used to watch. That probably wasn't likely, but she didn't want to take her chances.

They walked into the classroom, which was quickly filling up with students, whose loud voices echoed through the room. It would be about five minutes before class started, so Bethany figured she'd have enough time to discuss matters with Kiel. She sat at her desk and leaned conspiratively towards Kiel, who was already seated. "Did you read the book last night?"

"Yeah," he said quietly, quickly withdrawing _Pick The Plot_ from his bag and handing it to her. "I didn't get very far, but I got to the part where Owen is outside with the, um, dragon hunting group."

" _Dinosaur_ hunting," Bethany corrected. "I'm a few chapters past where you are. You know how he's with that girl, Kara? Well, he's not anymore. They escaped the prison because of the dinosaurs attacking, and they were trying to find time watches that they thought would help them escape. Instead, Kara got taken by some time agents. I have no clue where they took her, but Owen is alone out there, and he's hurt." She flipped through the book as quietly as she could, then pointed her finger at the page she was currently on. "See? Plus, something big is about to happen, like a volcanic eruption. We need to get him out _before_ that happens."

Kiel scrunched his eyebrows together, looking confused. "How did you know there's a volcano eruption if I was reading the book last night? I already read the last page of the book and —"

"Kiel!" she whisper-shouted, her eyes widening. " _Never_ read the last page of the book! You know the rules."

"Right," he said, winking at her. "But you're right, because there _is_ a volcanic eruption. So we need to get him out before it hits. Should be easy. And fun."

"Yeah," Bethany whispered, her leg bouncing in nervous anticipation. Her breathing grew slightly unsteady as she thought more about what was to come. "That part is close to the end of the book, so I guess we know what's supposed to happen. But we can pull him out of there before it does."

She already knew the end result of the book, but she didn't want to think about that. It would only worry her further if she did. From experience, she learned that the story could always be changed, and there would always be a way to save a person from their fate. She'd changed Kiel's fate, when he was supposed to die in _Kiel Gnomenfoot and The Source of Magic_. Now, she'd be changing Owen's, and she would save him before the entire fictional world was wiped out.

Kiel smiled, seeing her nervous expression. "Don't worry, we'll get him out of there. Just like that saying: 'It'll be a piece of nonfictional cake'. It's nothing we haven't done before."

"I know," she said, dropping her hands into her lap. "But this is a _volcanic eruption_ we're talking about. It's going to take more than a few stupid risks. I don't even know for sure if my plan will work."

"'A few stupid risks' is my middle name." He paused. "And it _will_ work. It always ends up working out in the end."

Bethany smiled at him before glancing back at the front of the classroom, where Mr. Tompkins was motioning with his hands to quiet down the students. "Thank you," he said, glaring at them. "Now that you're done talking, can we get started?"

Sharing another look with Kiel, she turned her attention to the lesson, running over the plan for tonight in her head. She couldn't focus, though. She could only think, and worry, and wonder if Owen was alright, and if she'd even see him tonight. Tonight seemed so foreign and far away, but soon, she'd have Owen in her arms. She wouldn't let her worries hold her back this time. The danger didn't matter, not with something this important.

If her plan worked in her favor, she'd be hugging her best friend, and it would all be worth it.

* * *

Owen wasn't sure how much time had passed or how long he'd just been laying there, barely moving as he stared off into the cloudy sky. He'd stopped crying at some point a long time ago, when he became adjusted to the unbearable pain. He was glued to the ground, unable to move or breathe or think. Through his cloud of agony, he was forced to admit the truth: there was no way he could escape from this book.

The fictional world used to be so fun, and the adventures he shared with Bethany and Kiel never seemed to end. Although Owen had learned a few hard lessons during his visits into books, there were also many times when he was just having fun: jumping in the chocolate river of _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ or running around the hills of _Narnia_ , or even the time him and Bethany jumped into _Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief_. Just like real life, there were so many things to love about the fictional world, but there were also many things to hate about it.

He used to want nothing more than to go on adventures, without a second thought about the danger that might come with it. Now, all he wanted to do was go home.

At some point, Owen managed to sit up. His body screamed in pain, but he really didn't care. He needed help, and he wasn't going to get it by laying on the ground. He gritted his teeth as a wave of heat washed over him, and the pain increased when he moved his arm. He rose his gaze to the sky, addressing Nobody instead of the readers.

"I'm my own person," he said. "No one gets to tell me how to live my life except _me_. I think I've learned my lesson, Nobody. Are you happy? You better be, because I'm getting out of here whether you want me to or not. I won't let you take my freedom away from me, and I won't let you ruin books for me either. I'm getting out of this book."

With that, Owen found the strength to rise to his feet. The dizziness that followed was so intense that he could barely take another step, but he did it anyway. He threw a glance down at his arm, which was already swelling up like a balloon, and the skin surrounding the injury had transformed into a dark red and blue color. Okay, _gross_. He cringed at the sight and decided not to look at it again, instead turning his attention to the jungle ahead of him.

"Hello?" he croaked, his voice scratchy from misuse. He cleared his throat and shouted, "Is anyone there?" Owen strained his ears for a reply, not even caring who happened to hear him, but he didn't get one. He tried one last time, desperation seeping into his tone. "Is anybody out there? I just wanna go home!" Silence, aside from the loud chirping of insects, was the only thing he heard. He let out a defeated sigh, his heart sinking in disappointment.

Holding his injured arm in his non-injured one, Owen walked through the prehistoric jungle, for once remaining unbothered by any dinosaurs. It seemed that the dinosaurs no longer cared about him, which was a relief. Being too preoccupied with his broken arm, Owen doubted he could survive another near-death experience.

As he walked, he thought about his friends. He thought about Bethany, and Kara, and Kiel, and Charm. Was there a chance he'd see them again? There had to be. It was the only thing keeping him going. Bethany still was in danger, and Kara was too. Plus, he didn't know if he could take it if he never saw Charm again. And Kiel — he was like the brother that Owen had never had. He needed to see them again.

Earth-shaking footsteps were what startled Owen from his thoughts. Confused at the uproar, he turned his head and gasped. There weren't just one or two dinosaurs — there were hundreds, all stampeding in a rush towards where Owen was standing. Another tremor shook the ground, but he could tell it wasn't from the dinosaurs this time. Still a good distance away from the stampede, Owen squinted his eyes and looked off into the distance, his eyes catching sight of the top of the volcano. Not only was lava gushing out of it, but a cloud of ash was forming in the air.

Uh oh.

Owen immediately began to sweat — more than he had been already. He leaped over a small stream, then broke out into a run as the ground shook all around him. Still holding his broken arm, Owen sprinted for his life, his heartbeat echoing in his ears as the shaking jungle floor threatened to topple him over. The dinosaurs ran just behind him, not even paying him any attention as they fled for their lives. Adrenaline coursing through his body, Owen ran through the last set of trees and into a clearing, which was filled with yards of open grassy fields.

Various fearful roars echoed through the field, and Owen knew he wouldn't have time to turn back. He continued running as footprints embedded themselves in the earth just behind him, and he screamed out loud as a dinosaur lunged forwards in an effort to get away from the lava, nearly landing on him in the process. The dinosaurs seemed to be gaining speed, and they were crowding all around him, surrounding him at all sides and threatening to trample him.

In his exhausted state, Owen wasn't sure how much longer he could continue running. This was one of the theories on how the dinosaur era had ended. They'd all become wiped out. Did that mean he'd be wiped out, too? No, he couldn't think about that. He would be okay. There was no way anyone could die in a _Pick The Plot_ book! He forced himself to remain hopeful, to take at least a few more steps. As long as he kept running and found a good hiding spot, maybe there was a chance —

All of the sudden, an outstretched hand appeared out of nowhere, right above his head.

Owen had no time to think. Screaming at the top of his lungs, he grabbed the hand and was immediately yanked upward. There was suddenly a very different change of scenery, and it took Owen a few seconds to realize where he was. He wasn't in _Pick The Plot_ anymore, that was for sure. Still frightened and sweaty, Owen blinked rapidly, then looked up into the faces of the last people he ever expected to see. Owen's breath caught in his throat. He stared up at them, his expression a mix of awe, astonishment, and confusion, and his mouth dropped open. ". . . Bethany? _Kiel?_ "

Bethany let out a laugh, then leaned down and enveloped him into a hug, pulling him onto his knees. "Owen!"

 _Is this real?_ He held onto her tightly with his good arm, his eyes squeezed shut. Tears flooded his eyes and fell across his cheeks, but he barely noticed them. Her face was pressed up against his, and she was rubbing his back in a comforting way. She was sniffling quietly, which gave him an indication that she might be crying, but he could barely hear her above his own quivering breaths. He was still shaking, but he didn't care. They stayed like that for almost a full minute, neither of them making the first move to let go. It had been _so_ long. _Too_ long. He almost never thought he'd see her again. He was afraid that if he let go . . . she would disappear. There was no way he could let that happen again.

Finally, Bethany pulled away, and Owen didn't get a second to breathe before Kiel swooped in for a hug. "It's really good to see you," Kiel whispered, squeezing him as if he'd never let Owen go again.

Owen beamed, resting his chin on his best friend's shoulder as they hugged. "You too, Kiel." After a few long seconds, the boy magician let go of him, and Kiel and Bethany both stared at him, a thousand emotions on their faces.

Owen sniffled, wiping his eyes with the back of his grimy hand. Then he grinned goofily at them. "You have no _idea_ how many days I've been in there. I'm so happy to see you. I was about to go extinct, just like all the dinosaurs!" He laughed a little, then looked at Bethany, his eyes brimming with tears as he searched her's. "Did you hear me? I tried contacting you every night that I could. You didn't respond, but I hoped you could somehow hear me."

Bethany nodded, her own eyes slightly wet. "I know. I saw." Her smile stretched wide as she stared at him, but she still looked sad, and almost angry. "I can't believe Nobody put you in that book. He's going to _pay_. I wish I'd realized it sooner that you've been in there for three years."

"Three years?" Owen whispered, his eyes widening. He sat up against the wall. _No._ "Wait, what? I haven't — there's _no_ way . . ."

He looked at Kiel, who held a serious expression. "I'm sorry, Owen. It's true. You've been missing for three years. There's . . . a _lot_ to talk about."

"How could I have been in there for _three years_?" Owen asked, his voice raising. He scrambled to his feet. "That can't be true. It _can't_ be. How much have I missed? Oh, god. My mom is gonna kill me!"

"Slow down!" Bethany said, grabbing his arm. "Book time is feels much slower than it is in real life. It'll be fine —"

"Fine?" he shouted, pulling his arm away. "What part of this is fine? Nothing about this is _fine_!"

"I know you're upset — so am I! I swear if I knew you were in there, I would've gotten you out faster. I would've gotten you out the second you were thrown in there!"

"Why didn't you?" he demanded, anger radiating through him. "What could've been more important than getting me out right away? Why didn't you get me out when you had _three years_ to do it?"

"I couldn't!" she shouted, looking pained. "Nobody separated me!"

"He — he what?" Owen stared at her, flabbergasted. The anger drained from him. "Bethany . . . I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

Bethany nodded, then shook her head. "I'm fine, now. But I was separated into two halves for three years. I didn't have any memories about my half-fictional life. If I did, I would've rejoined myself _way_ sooner."

Owen shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe . . . I can't believe Nobody _separated_ you. I didn't know how much time had passed while I was in that book. My goal was to escape the book on my own and save you from being separated. I never thought I'd be too late. I never thought he'd actually do it."

Kiel shrugged. "He's done a lot of bad things. And now, he's out to destroy the fictional world. There's this white nothingness everywhere . . . changing my world into what Nobody calls 'pure possibility'. His plan is to wipe out the entire fictional world, then start over fresh and take control of the whole place."

"He is?" If Owen wasn't shocked before, he was _definitely_ shocked now. "Well, this is just fantastic. How are we going to fix this? Now we need to face Nobody again, too." He sighed. "I have so many questions. Like how did Bethany become her regular half-fictional self again? And what has happened over the past three years that I was gone? How are you here?"

Bethany held a hand up. "Okay, I promise I'm answering every single one of your questions. But do you want to get some food, first? And some water? And maybe, uh, change out of those gross clothes?"

Owen looked down, then almost laughed as he noticed the dried-up mud all over his orange jumpsuit. "Good idea. But that doesn't mean you can ignore any of my questions. Most important one being: am I really fifteen years old? And the other most important one being: how much did I miss? _Seriously?_ Nobody decided to go on and let me skip out on the most important years of my life!"

"You're definitely fifteen years-old," Kiel said with a wink, which instantly made Owen feel less panicked. "Don't worry about that part, Owen. You didn't miss as much as the rest of us. Bethany lost her memories, so she missed out on a lot, too. I was re-learning magic up until now, and I was working on a spell for three years. I didn't come here until two months ago. Really, you didn't miss a whole lot."

"Sure sounds like it," Owen said, failing to keep the bitterness out of his voice. He tried to shake himself out of his sour mood, so he could relish being with his best friends again. But he couldn't help feeling this way. He had missed three entire years of his _life_. What else had he missed? He dreaded seeing his mother again, who would probably ground him for the rest of time.

Bethany took out an extra shirt and sweatpants from her closet and handed it to Owen. "Here. These might fit you."

He flashed her a "seriously?" look, but took it anyway, feeling grateful that he would finally be clean again. He retreated to the bathroom to take a quick shower and change out of his old clothes, being extra careful to only use his good hand. Although he was much cleaner now, Owen was pretty sure that he'd never be able to get rid of the dinosaur stench from his nose. He walked back into Bethany's room; Kiel was staring out the window and Bethany was laying on the bed, her eyes on the ceiling.

"I'm all ears," Owen said, joining Bethany on the bed. "What did I miss?"

Bethany took a deep breath, fixating her eyes on him. "It all kind of started after you left my dad's comic book. You were right to warn me about the Dark, but I didn't realize who he _really_ was. He was my dad, and . . . for some reason, he didn't remember me. I tried fighting against him, but it was hard because I was surrounded by his shadows. So I transformed myself into particles of light."

His eyes widened. "But that could've killed you."

She nodded. "Yeah. But I knew it would save Jupiter City. And Dad, most importantly. Next thing I knew . . . I was separated into my fictional and nonfictional halves. When I think back on it, I really loved my fictional life. I was with my dad, and I got to train as Twilight Girl, his sidekick!"

Kiel snorted. "Twilight Girl?"

Bethany glared at him. "Don't make fun of my superhero name. And you're saying it wrong." She cleared her throat, then growled, "It's _Twilight Girl._ "

This time, both Kiel and Owen cracked up. She sighed apprehensively. "Point is, my fictional life was great. My nonfictional life was fine, I guess. It was average. I have a friend named Liz. She loves books, too." She smiled a little. "But I know that I felt incomplete when I was separated. It felt like there was always a part of me that was missing, and I didn't know what it was until I was rejoined again."

"So then . . ." Owen trailed off, looking over to Kiel. "How did you get to our world without Bethany?"

"It was hard," Kiel admitted. "You know how I went back to Magisteria to figure out who I was without magic?"

Owen nodded.

"Well, I decided to relearn magic. I'd only been doing it for a short time before Bethany — the fictional version of her — crash-landed into my world. I found out about her being separated, and long story short, I created a spell that would make a link to the nonfictional world."

Owen gaped at him. "Wha — what? How did you do that? How is that possible for a fictional character to break out of a book?"

Kiel winked. "I like to think that anything's possible. Anyway, I ended up getting captured by Nobody. I was in this prison of his — it was completely white, and I'm not sure how long I was even there."

"I was there too," Owen said, rubbing his eyelids. "Twice. Once when the Magister locked me in there, and another time when Nobody put me there. How'd you escape?"

"He didn't escape. Someone let him out," Bethany added.

"And then I went back home to finish my spell," Kiel supplied, giving Bethany a look. "It took a long time . . . a lot longer than I wanted it to. Again, long story short, the spell worked, and I spent the next two months in the nonfictional world, trying to convince Bethany to rejoin with her fictional self."

The only thing Owen could say was: "Wow! Anything else?"

"There's more details, but that's the main stuff. There was also this boy who Nobody sent after me, to stop me from rejoining Bethany. He threatened me . . . well, _a lot_. His name was Oliver Bines. I found out later that he was some high-class tracker and murderer from a mystery book." Kiel shook his head, scowling. "Now I know why you hate mysteries, Owen. He knew everything about me. It was creepy. I had to use my magic to get rid of him."

Owen frowned, noticing his friend's discomfort when he spoke of Oliver. "Why would Nobody _do that —_ to send a crazy murderer after you — just because he didn't want Bethany to be half-fictional again? He's insane. He definitely goes way above and beyond when it comes to ruining our lives."

Bethany nodded. "Which is exactly why we're going to stop him before he destroys the entire fictional world and ruins other people's lives. For good."

There was an unspoken agreement about this. Each of them had their fair share of suffering, and they were all set on defeating Nobody, the faceless man who'd put them through it. Owen shivered at the thought of facing Nobody again. Owen had tried stopping him, but Nobody had tossed him into a _Pick The Plot_ book as if he were nothing. He'd already failed to stop Nobody once, and he couldn't fail a second time. He only hoped that they wouldn't be too late when the time came.

"Also, uh, we might have a problem," Owen spoke up, suddenly remembering that his arm was twisted at a strange angle. He'd been so distracted that he had completely forgotten about his injury. It still hurt, of course, but seeing Bethany and Kiel was like Christmas morning all over again, and the euphoria of seeing them had distracted him from his pain.

Bethany paled. "Owen! Why didn't you mention that before?"

He swallowed nervously. "I don't know. I guess that I was so caught up with seeing you guys."

"This might hurt a little, but the pain will be over in a split-second," Kiel said, standing up and walking over to Owen. "Trust me, I've seen this being done before. I'll snap it back into place."

"What?" Owen shouted, his eyes bulging out of his head. Not that he didn't trust Kiel, but after his horrible three years in the fictional world, he would rather go to a safe, normal hospital than allow anyone to do magic on him. "Are you crazy? _Don't_ magic my arm."

"I'm not 'magicing' your arm," Kiel said, making a face as he said it. "That's not a word anyway."

Before Owen could do anything, Kiel grabbed his broken arm. Owen quickly tore it away, pain spreading through his arm like a wildfire. " _Don'tyoutouchme!_ "

"This is definitely something we need help for. _Professional_ help. We need to take you to the hospital," Bethany said (much to Owen's relief), sliding out of her bed.

"No time," Kiel said, reaching for Owen's arm again. "We're doing this now. His arm isn't even bent that far."

"Seriously?" Bethany said, looking mildly horrified. Then, she gave in, taking a seat next to Owen. "Okay, fine. As long as it doesn't make his pain worse. No screaming, Owen. My mom might come home any minute."

"Like I can help that!" Owen responded, rolling his eyes. In agitation, he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet until Kiel pulled him back to sit on the bed.

Bethany glanced at Kiel, her hands hovering over Owen. "What should I do?"

"Just hold him steady," Kiel said, beginning to roll up his sleeves.

She nodded, grabbing his shoulder with one hand and grabbed his non-injured hand with the other. She wrapped his hand tightly around his, giving him a reassuring squeeze. "Owen. If this hurts, squeeze my hand as hard as you want. And focus on that, not on whatever Kiel's doing." Briefly, Owen nodded, clutching her hand as fear seized him.

"No!" he yelled, trying to break free as Kiel grabbed hold of him. He wrestled against them, but then stopped as Kiel forcefully twisted his arm back into place. Owen let out a guttural scream, squeezing Bethany's hand so tightly that she winced. Despite her discomfort, she held onto his hand, not letting go.

"Are you okay?" Bethany shouted in his ear. But he couldn't respond. He continued to scream, and he didn't stop screaming until about a full two minutes later.

The pain was so intense that his entire arm could be compared to fire. His stomach twisted, making him feel like throwing up. Tears welled in his eyes and spilled down his face, and he cried for the second time that night, feeling embarrassed as his friends watched. He sat there, trembling as Bethany continued holding his hand, brushing her fingers against the tops of his knuckles in a way that almost felt comforting.

"You're good as new," Kiel said with a smile, dusting himself off. He put a hand on Owen's shoulder, rubbing it affectionately. "The hard part is over, see? You're gonna be okay. But I think you need to get a cast. Your arm is definitely broken."

"You _think_?" Owen made a painful sobbing noise, letting go of Bethany's hand and falling backward onto her bed. He put a hand over his face and waited for the flood of tears to stop. He didn't speak for a full minute.

"It's getting late," Bethany said, her eyes on the clock. "Kiel, you should head home. And Owen, you _need_ to go to the hospital. Your arm is _broken_!"

"You think I don't know that?" Owen shot back, sitting up and holding his broken arm. He sighed, trying to ignore the intense pain that coursed through his arm every time he moved it. "But you're right. I need to go to the hospital . . . but I should probably stop at my house first. My mom will know what to do, as long as Kiel doesn't snap my arm again!"

Kiel frowned. "I did a great job. Would you have preferred a doctor to do it?"

"Yes! I really would've!"

Despite his obvious pain, Bethany grinned. "God, I've missed the three of us being together. It feels like normal."

Kiel smiled, nodding his agreement. "What could be better?"

"Maybe some sleep?" Owen said, making the two of them laugh. "Just kidding. You have no idea how _happy_ I am." A grin stretched across his lips, momentarily blinding him from his pain. Then, his body swayed a little, and the room spun. "Whoa, what's making the room spin? Or who?" He couldn't help but giggle.

Bethany grabbed him by the shoulders before he could fall, allowing him to lean against her as she looked at Kiel. "Okay, it's time for him to go to the hospital. His arm is really messed up. It's probably making him delirious!"

"I know," Kiel said, a frown gracing his pale features. He turned to Owen, who was slowly regaining himself. "Didn't you say you're gonna go home first?"

"Yeah," Owen murmured, the smile slipping from his face as the world stopped spinning. He pushed Bethany's hands away and walked towards the door, his friends right behind him.

The three of them drifted downstairs, all feeling mentally drained. After giving Owen some medication for pain relief, Bethany said good-bye to the two, hugging Owen for a few seconds longer than usual before she pulled away. Owen didn't mind; he hadn't seen his best friend in so long.

"Come on!" Kiel said, walking down the porch steps once they made it out of the house. Owen followed closely behind, holding his broken arm with his other hand.

"You know I could easily just walk home, right?" Owen asked, raising his eyebrows.

Kiel nodded. "I know. But your arm is broken, and the least I can do is make sure you get home in one piece. Teleporting is faster, anyway." Owen thought he heard a hint of guilt in his voice. He remembered from the books how much Kiel needed to be protecting someone.

Owen smiled, then looked down at the button in Kiel's hand. "Why don't we just teleport from inside Bethany's house?"

Kiel shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. "Oh. I was doing this out of habit, I guess. I have to be careful when I teleport. I don't want anyone to notice me and call the nonfictional police. That already happened to me a few months ago."

"Don't worry," Owen assured him. "If we do get caught, I won't voluntarily turn myself in."

Kiel laughed lightly, then grabbed his hand and teleported them to Owen's house. They reappeared on Owen's front lawn, which had a thin-layer of snow on it. Owen shivered at the sight. He took a deep breath, trying to summon his courage as he stared at the place he hadn't seen in three years. His heart ached at the sight of it, but it hurt even more when he saw that the lights were on.

"You okay?" Kiel asked, glancing at him with concern.

"My mom's home," he said quietly, swallowing hard. "I don't even know how I'll explain _this_. I'm not good at lying."

"I can walk in with you, if you want. We can tell her everything. About Nobody, about the _Pick The Plot_ book —"

Owen shook his head. "No. I need to do this alone. I can't tell her about this. If I told her about getting trapped in book, then I'd have to tell her about you, and Bethany, and her powers." He frowned, feeling nothing but dread. "I guess I'll have to come up with something. And I'll have to somehow explain how my arm is broken."

Kiel nodded, giving him a reassuring smile before teleporting back home. Owen returned his gaze to his house, then started to walk forward. He stopped in front of his door, and after a second of hesitation, he knocked. After a minute, the doorknob turned, and his mother opened the door. Her mouth dropped open, and she looked like she wanted to cry. "Oh my god . . . _Owen_? Is that really you?"

* * *

When Kiel arrived back home, he went over the events of the past two days and suddenly couldn't stop grinning. Ever since yesterday, he hadn't been able to stop feeling hopeful. After a month of hopelessness, it was comforting to know that he'd overcome the challenges that were thrown his way. He still couldn't believe that his plan to rejoin Bethany had not only worked, but she was herself again! A weight had lifted off his chest once the realization sunk in — everything was right again. Bethany was back to her normal half-fictional self, now with regained memories, and they'd rescued Owen. Things were resolved.

The only problem was Owen's broken arm, which Kiel assumed could easily be mended. Even so, he was both shocked and terrified that his friend had gone through such an ordeal. From what he'd read in _Pick The Plot_ , he knew Owen had suffered — both physically and emotionally. Kiel wasn't good with confrontation or dealing with sadness; he was only good at boosting others' mood.

He wanted to ease his friend's pain the best he could, but he wasn't sure how. When Kiel himself was sad, _he_ wasn't even sure how to fix or acknowledge it. He'd done the best he could by snapping Owen's arm in place . . . although he _did_ feel regret upon seeing the look on Owen's face afterwards. But hadn't it been the right thing to do? Kiel thought so. Now, Owen would at least have the hardest part done. Or so he thought.

Kiel carelessly tossed a fireball from hand to hand as he walked through his dark, empty house. After a month of living alone, he'd become slowly accustomed to Elijah not being here, but he still missed him. Since the Magister could hardly be considered a father figure for Kiel anymore, Elijah had replaced that role. Kiel hoped that wherever Elijah was, he was with his family. After being indebted to that pirate captain for thirty years, Elijah deserved to be with his family, not stuck in the nonfictional world with Kiel.

A yawn escaped his lips, and Kiel turned his weary eyes to the clock on the wall. It was ten o'clock, which wasn't normally the time he went to sleep, but he was unexpectedly exhausted. He ditched the fireball and walked over to his room, sitting down on his bed as he pealed off his snow-soaked shoes. He yawned again, and before he knew it his eyelids were already drooping.

"Alright, fine," Kiel muttered in annoyance, standing up. Seriously, why was he so tired? The more he thought about it, the more it didn't make any sense. He often stayed up late, even when there was school the next morning. Unlike Bethany, he didn't tend to fall asleep in class when he was tired, so that part wasn't a problem.

Then, he happened to look to the right, where his desk was positioned along the wall in front of his bed. The desk was a mess, with scattered papers everywhere and his spell book lying on top of it. Hanging on the end of his chair was his belt, which contained magical supplies and could store spells inside it. Along with his cape, he hadn't worn it since he was last in Magisteria.

The strange part was: it was disappearing right before his eyes. The entire belt —completely solid one second — was dissolving the next. Slowly, one end of the belt started to vanish, traveling through the rest of the belt until it was fully dissolved. Within twenty mere seconds, it had simply disappeared, no longer hanging on the end of the chair. There wasn't even a sign of where it had gone.

Kiel sucked in a gasp. What just happened? Why had his belt disappeared out of nowhere? It took him a minute to figure it out. Then, it all clicked. If his belongings were disappearing . . . it only meant one thing: the fictional world was closer than ever to extinction. This wasn't the greatest news.

If his belt had dissolved due to it being fictional, did that mean _he_ would dissolve, too?

* * *

The car ride to the hospital was filled with tension. Owen's mother had her hands tightly gripped on the wheel, and she cast irritated looks every now and then at Owen, who sat in the passenger seat in silence. After a hurried explanation that his arm was broken, his mother had started driving to the hospital, no questions asked. What at first started off as a silent ride was quickly turning into an angry lecture from his mother.

He didn't blame her for being upset. He was just as much — probably more than she was — but it wasn't like he could _tell_ her anything. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he'd been in _Pick The Plot_ for three years. It had only felt like a week. He'd missed out on three years of his life, and now he was paying the price.

"Still no explanation, huh? We've been sitting in this car for five minutes and you're _still_ not talking?" his mother said, a deep frown on her face. Her tone made him feel even worse about everything.

"I promise I'll explain all of it eventually," Owen insisted, wincing as pain shot through his arm. "Can we please talk about this after the hospital —"

"So what?" his mother demanded, cutting him off as her voice raised in hysteria. "You just show up after _three_ years of being gone, with a broken arm, no less? You have no idea how _worried_ I've been, Owen. You didn't think to call or send me a text about where you've been? You expect me to not freak out when you've been missing? I would've understood if you contacted me before you decided to run away for no reason. Where did you even _go_?"

She looked at him with pleading, angry eyes, and it was enough to make him look away. The dark window seemed a lot better of a view than the face of his mother.

"I . . ." Owen opened his mouth without knowing exactly what to say, hoping that something brilliant might fall out. Instead, he said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left. I should've called. I didn't know how long I was gone. I didn't . . ." He trailed off, having no idea what else to say. What _could_ he say?

His mother let out a heavy sigh, turning back to the road. Her voice was bitter. "Yeah. You shouldn't have left. I don't know what caused you to leave home, without even telling me first. Do you know how scared I was? Probably not, because you went off to who-knows-where and didn't come back!"

"I'm really sorry, Mom. Really, I _am_ ," he choked out in a quiet voice. "I didn't mean to scare you. That's the last thing I wanted to do."

She sighed again. "It's . . . it's fine. I'm not that mad, Owen. I only want to know where you've been, that's all. I'm very thankful that you're home." She continued speaking, her eyes on the road. "You're gonna have to talk to me. I need you to tell me what's happened, sweetie. It doesn't have to be now. It doesn't have to be today. But when you're ready. Okay?"

Owen cringed, already knowing he'd have to lie about this. He didn't want to lie anymore, but he couldn't tell her the truth. She'd never believe him anyway. There was no way he could tell her he'd been trapped in a book, up until his half-fictional best friend pulled him out of it. "Okay, I'm — I'm sorry, Mom. I will."

"Good," she said. "But just know that you are _grounded_ , Owen. From now until next September."

"What? Grounded?" he almost shouted. "But —" He started to protest, then remembered she hadn't known where he'd been. "Right. That sounds completely fair."

"It _does_ sound fair. Any other parent would ground their child for _years_ — not months — after what you did. I hope you understand never to do that again," his mother said, to which he quickly muttered another apology. They sat in silence for a few minutes after that, allowing the words to sink in. As they neared the hospital, her anger had mostly steamed off, and she looked over at him with a more sympathetic expression. "You can talk to me about anything, you know that? You don't need to hide anything from me."

Owen nodded, feeling guiltier by the second. He never wanted to cause his mother or anyone else pain. "Yeah, I know. I'll tell you everything when I'm ready. Promise."

"Good," she said. "But I guess we can figure this out once we come back from the hospital, and once you give me a decent explanation. Let's just take this one step at a time."

He grimaced. He'd have to make something up. The good thing was: he'd always had an active imagination. He could easily make up a story. But he didn't want to lie, especially after putting his mother through all that.

He wished he could borrow a time watch and punch in the exact date he'd gone missing. He could turn back time and none of this would've ever happened. Maybe he could warn himself about getting trapped in a book to ensure it would never happen. His mother wouldn't be an emotional mess, Bethany could still be saved before the worlds were split, and Nobody might even be stopped. His arm would still be broken, but at least all the other stuff could be prevented.

Except . . . that would probably create a paradox. And then a fifteen year-old Owen would have to explain why he didn't look twelve, and there was the possibility that there would still be a twelve year-old Owen stuck in _Pick The Plot,_ having recently been thrown in by Nobody. Ugh. _This_ was why time travel never worked. What was it good for if it couldn't easily solve his problems?

They swerved into a parking spot. His mother opened the car door for him and he pushed himself out with one hand, wincing as his broken arm swung a little bit. The cold winter air washed over him, making his teeth chatter and causing goosebumps to appear on his skin. After being in a tropical climate, it felt like his body still needed to get adjusted. That, and he was only wearing the clothes he'd borrowed from Bethany, which were a thin flannel shirt and a pair of sweatpants.

Not wanting to be in the cold a moment longer, Owen ran towards the hospital's entrance, his mother a few steps behind since she was grabbing her purse. The automatic sliding glass doors could barely keep up with Owen's pace as he impatiently waited for them to open before rushing up to the front desk. It was a bit warmer inside, but not by much. Why did hospitals always need to be freezing?

As he reached the front desk, his mother fell in step right beside him, and they both stared at the receptionist with earnest, who was typing something into the computer. Then, the receptionist looked up, and her eyes fell on Owen's broken arm. She visibly paled at the sight, then quickly typed something into her computer before looking back at Owen's mother. "What is the name of your son?"

"Owen Conners."

The receptionist nodded, flashing a bright smile at Owen. "Okay, Owen. While I have your mom fill out some paperwork, we're gonna get your arm fixed up. How's that sound?"

"Good," Owen whispered. He watched as a nurse appeared in the doorway, pushing a wheelchair and ordering him to sit in it. He obeyed, although he wasn't really sure why he needed to be carted around. That seemed like a very nonfictional thing to do when he could obviously walk just fine. But it _did_ make him feel safer, so he accepted it and closed his eyes as the nurse pushed him down the maze of hallways.

"Take a seat on the chair," the nurse said, as the wheelchair stopped moving. Owen opened his eyes to see a regular-looking hospital room, similar to the times he'd been at the doctor's office when he was sick. With the help of the nurse, he stood up, feeling slightly dizzy as he made his way over to the chair.

"Anything else I can get for you?" the nurse asked politely. Owen only shook his head, forcing a smile. She nodded and stepped out of the room, leaving the wheelchair right outside.

Several minutes later, Owen heard footsteps down the hall, coming closer and closer. A man — presumably a doctor — walked into the room, wearing a lab coat and glasses. He smiled cheerfully at Owen as he came in. "Hello, Owen! My name is Dr. Johnson. I've been hearing you have a problem with your arm."

"It's broken," the boy replied, lifting his injured arm using his hand and wiggling it to show the doctor. He wasn't even able to control it.

"Ah, ah." The man shook his head. "You may _think_ it's broken, but we'll only see if that's true once we do an x-ray. I do see a lot of swelling, but that isn't uncommon with an injury." He sat down at a rolling chair and pushed himself towards Owen. "Now. I'm going to do some examining on your arm. Let me know if you feel any pain." Gently, he picked up Owen's arm and traced his fingers lightly over it, staring intently at his arm.

Owen winced at the pressure but didn't say anything. He watched as the doctor pressed his fingers into Owen's forearm, where most of the bruising and swelling had occurred. He sucked in a gasp. "Ow!"

Dr. Johnson withdrew his hand and gently dropped Owen's arm back into his lap. He rolled his chair back towards his desk, where a computer was sitting on. "Looks like you have a serious case, Owen. The good news is: the wound isn't bleeding. That would mean the bone had broken through the skin." He glanced at his computer, then back at Owen. "So tell me, what are your symptoms? I'm seeing a lot of bruising, swelling, and tenderness. Was there any more deformity before you arrived here?"

"Um, yes," Owen said. "But my friend snapped it back into place."

" _What_?" Dr. Johnson looked horrified. His mouth dropped open. He closed it and looked away, running a hand over his face before looking back at Owen. "Okay. In the future, _never_ let anyone who isn't a licensed doctor do anything like that. There's a chance that it made your arm worse."

The boy quickly nodded, unable to prevent the blush from rising to his face. "I-I know. My friend was pretty insistent about it."

"Well, whoever your friend is, they were lucky they didn't come with you. I would've had a long discussion with them on what _not_ to do when it comes to others' health."

Owen almost laughed at that. Kiel Gnomenfoot, listening to what this guy had to say? Not likely.

"So, I'm going to ask you another question, just to get an idea for how you got your injury," the doctor said, straightening up in his chair. "Do you remember how you injured yourself?"

Owen definitely remembered. The memory was fresh in his mind, and it'd been a painful experience. He was being chased by a dinosaur for one moment, and the next, he was free-falling off a small cliff, landing hard on his arm. It wasn't pleasant to think about. "I don't . . . fully remember how it happened. But I know that I fell on my arm."

Dr. Johnson nodded, scribbling something down on a sheet of paper. "Alright. Let's move you over to the x-ray room."

Owen swallowed hard. "What are the x-rays for?"

"To determine the location and extent of the break. And we'll be able to tell if you've actually broken a bone in your arm."

"My arm is _definitely_ broken," he muttered under his breath as Dr. Johnson brought the wheelchair back into the room. Owen rose from the hospital chair and sat back in the wheelchair, allowing the doctor to push him over to the x-ray room, where another doctor was waiting. The room was dimly lit, the lightest thing being the glowing x-ray table in the center of the room. As Owen climbed out of the wheelchair, Dr. Johnson left, leaving him and this new doctor alone in the room.

"How are you today?" the doctor asked, smiling kindly at him. "My name is Dr. Cho. You ready for a nice, fun x-ray?"

Owen shrugged. "I guess."

"Good, good," the doctor said, standing from his chair and guiding Owen over to another plastic chair, which was next to the x-ray table. "I'm just going to get a quick look at your arm, and I'll be able to see if anything's broken or out of place. Then, the other doctors will see what they can do from there."

Owen nodded, rolling up his sleeve all the way before placing his broken arm on the x-ray table. Dr. Cho walked over to the machine and pressed a few buttons on it, causing a few loud beeping noises to echo around the room. Bright lights lit up under Owen's arm, and the machine above the table passed over his arm, continuously making beeping sounds. When it was done, light underneath the table faded, and the machine powered down.

Dr. Cho walked over to the computer in the corner and typed something into it. A few seconds later, the screen was lit up with several x-rays. He peered at the pictures for a while, long enough to make Owen bored out of his mind. After nearly ten minutes of watching the doctor analyze the x-rays, Dr. Cho turned to Owen. "Looks like you've got a displaced fracture. I heard that your friend apparently set the bone back into place?"

"Yeah," Owen said, biting his lip. "Why, is it worse? And what is a displaced fracture?"

"A displaced fracture means that the bone fragments on each side of the break aren't aligned. When your friend set it back into place, it looks like it helped with most of the deformity. But your bones still aren't fully aligned. For the fractured bone to heal without any deformity, the bone fragments must be re-aligned to their normal position. So that's what we're going to do." At Owen's panicked look, the doctor smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. This won't hurt. We're going to give you medicine before the procedure."

Owen let out a breath. "Oh. Okay."

After another trip in the wheelchair, he was escorted to an operating room, which had many cabinets, machines, and a long bed with various wires hanging next to it. A nurse was already there, gathering together medical materials for the procedure.

When Owen came into the room, she looked at him and smiled with the same cheeriness that every worker here had. "Hello, Mr. Conners. I'll be performing reduction on your arm. Why don't you take a seat? Relax and make yourself comfortable."

Owen laid down on the bed, feeling jittery with nerves. Would he have to go through the same thing as an hour ago, when Kiel had painfully snapped his arm back into place? Dr. Cho said he'd be given medicine for the pain, but wouldn't it still hurt? And how long would it take? When would he leave?

"I just went over everything with your mom and I've also reviewed your medical record," the nurse said, an IV tube in her hand. "You'll be put under anesthesia. That way, you won't feel any pain, and you'll be asleep during the whole process. They are very safe, so you have nothing to worry about."

"Okay," Owen said quietly. The nurse walked over to him and wiped a disinfectant cloth on his arm, leaving a slight stinging sensation when she pulled away. Then, after getting him to relax more, she inserted the IV into his non-injured arm.

Already, he found himself feeling less anxious. His movements became more slow, and he stared up at the bright ceiling, which was getting blurrier by the second. Unable to fight the sudden tiredness off, Owen closed his eyes and was consumed by darkness. The rest of the world faded around him, and before he knew it, he was already in a deep and blissful sleep.

* * *

By the time Bethany made it to the hospital, Owen had recently been put under anesthesia for a procedure. Once her mother got home about thirty minutes after her friends had left, Bethany filled her in on the situation. Immediately, her mother agreed that they should stop by the hospital to see him. Due to traffic, it had taken another thirty minutes entirely just to reach the hospital.

When she entered the waiting room, she found that it was packed with people. Half the seats in the room were filled, but not many people were talking. There was a strange, somber silence in the room. Bethany's eyes landed on Ms. Conners, who was staring at the wall with a distressed expression. Bethany was surprised that Kiel wasn't there, but it made sense since it was very late at night and he probably didn't know where the hospital was.

"How's Owen holding up?" Bethany's mother asked as they walked over to Ms. Conners. She sat down next to her.

Owen's mother jumped, looking a bit on edge. She turned to look at them, appearing a little grateful that they were there. "Hi, Catherine. I think he'll be okay. He was put under anesthesia for reduction about twenty minutes ago."

"Reduction?" Bethany's mother repeated, her eyes widening. "Is his arm really that broken?"

"Yes," Ms. Conners said with a sigh. She looked at Bethany and gave her a strained smile. "Don't worry too much, honey. He's got a displaced fracture, but the doctors say it can be fixed. Thank you for coming. It means a lot."

"Yeah. Sorry we took so long," Bethany said, offering a small smile.

She quickly fell into a seat next to her mother. She hadn't even been here for a full minute and she was already antsy, her mind only on the safety of her best friend. Was he awake yet? Was he still in pain? Had the procedure worked? She didn't know, and there was no one to answer her questions. She wished Kiel was here, so she could express her worries to him. Anything he'd tell her would help to calm her down. Even if Gwen were here, she'd feel much better. She never failed to make Bethany feel positive about a situation.

She waited and waited, transitioning from drumming her fingers anxiously on her lap to sitting back and holding her face in her hands. The minutes seemed to seep by at the pace of a turtle. She found herself growling quietly in frustration, wanting nothing more than to see Owen, at least to assure herself that he was okay. She knew that he probably was, because it wasn't like he was in the most _serious_ condition. But once he _did_ wake up, how long would it take before he felt better?

At last, the door opened, and everyone's eyes snapped to the doctor who walked through. He looked at Ms. Conners. "Owen is now in the recovery room. He should be waking up soon if you'd like to see him."

"Thank you," Ms. Conners said, smiling wide. She glanced over at Bethany and her mother. "Can they come too?"

The doctor shrugged, waving them over with her hand. "Sure. Just don't crowd him all at once. He'll need some space when he first wakes up."

With that said, the three of them jumped from their seats and followed the doctor over to the recovery room. As they walked through the hallways, Ms. Conners fired question after question at the doctor.

"Is he going to be in much pain?" she asked. "What about medication?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes, he'll be in a lot of pain. And we'll give him some medication for that before he leaves today. I'd recommend an over-the-counter pain reliever. Since his pain is severe, I'll give him a prescription medication that contains narcotic. He can take that for a few days to reduce pain and inflammation. Once the swelling goes down, he should definitely feel less pain."

"How long will it take for the swelling to go down?"

"Should be about five to six days," the doctor said. "And we'll want to take another x-ray once the swelling goes down, just to make sure his arm is in good shape." She scratched her head. "Oh, and he'll also need physical therapy once the cast is taken off. But that won't be for another six to twelve weeks, most likely. It may take even longer than that, depending how quickly his bone heals. That is normally the amount of time it'll take for a broken arm to heal, but it varies."

"Oh god," Ms. Conners whispered, her forehead creased from worry. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, and Bethany felt a large amount of sympathy for the woman. It had hardly been less than two hours ago since Owen's mother saw her son after three years of him being gone. On top of that, his arm was in a critical condition. It would be hard news for anyone.

Bethany's mother rubbed her back. "I'm sure he'll be okay. He'll get through this."

"I hope so," Ms. Conners whispered.

The doctor led through to a closed door and pulled it open, stepping aside for the others to walk through. When they entered the room, all Bethany could see at first was the end of a metal bed with a nurse sitting next to it, writing something down on a clipboard. There was only one other chair in the room, which was where Ms. Conners sat down, right next to Owen, who was laying motionlessly in the bed.

Bethany's eyes fell on her best friend, who's eyes were closed as he slowly breathed in and out. Her heart twinged at the sight of him, alive and well aside from his broken arm, which was already wrapped in a cast. He was lying underneath the covers of the hospital bed, still wearing the clothes Bethany had given him a few hours ago. Next to the bed, his vital signs were being measured in a machine. From what she could see, it measured his oxygen saturation, his heart rate and rhythm, his blood pressure, and his temperature. She stared at line that showed his heart rate, watching as it rose and fell in jagged lines.

Bethany stood in the corner of the room, drowning out the conversation of her mother and Ms. Conners and the nurse. She stared at Owen, willing for him to wake up. As it turned out, she didn't have to wait very long. His eyes slowly fluttered open and landed on his mother, who was sitting right beside him. "Mom?"

Owen's mother breathed a sigh of relief. She placed a hand on his forehead, as if to check his temperature. "Hi, Owen. How're you feeling?"

Owen blinked, looking immensely exhausted. "Tired."

The nurse nodded. "That's normal. You'll feel groggy for a little, but by tomorrow morning you'll feel more awake. You can rest here for a little bit until that feeling started to fade, and then you can head home."

"Okay," he said, his voice quiet. His eyes traveled around the room and landed on Bethany. A tired grin appeared on his face, and she smiled back.

A few minutes later, the nurse stood from her chair. "Ma'am?" she said, addressing Ms. Conners. "Before you leave, just make sure to visit the main office. They need to go over hospital procedures, sign paperwork, and insurance. That sort of thing."

Ms. Conners nodded. "Yes. Sure thing." She glanced back at Owen. "I'll be right back." She followed the nurse out of the room, and Bethany's mother trailed behind her, their voices fading as they got further down the hallway.

Bethany slid into the seat at Owen's bedside, feeling internally grateful that she'd get to talk to him alone for the first time since he'd gone missing. They stared at each other for a few seconds before both of them broke the silence.

"Owen —" she started to say, just as Owen said, "I think —" They both laughed. Bethany waved her hand. "You go first."

He sighed. "I . . . I think I'm done with all of this, for a while. I mean, yeah, we still need to stop Nobody. But I need to be in the real world. I was in that stupid prison for too long. The idea of an adventure used to seem so exciting, but people get hurt. _I_ got hurt. I think I'm ready for a regular, boring, quiet life. At least for now."

She nodded. "I think that sounds like a good idea. We all deserve a break, at least to figure things out. I only just rejoined myself yesterday, so it feels like I need to get used to some things, you know?" She reached over and placed her hand on his non-injured one. "Also, it wasn't your fault that you couldn't stop Nobody from splitting me into two halves. Even though you didn't succeed in that part, you're still my best friend. No matter what, don't forget that."

"Yeah, I-I know. I get it," Owen said quietly, looking down at his cast. "Hey, once I get out of the hospital, can we do normal things, like see a movie or have sleepovers? Like we used to?"

She crinkled her eyebrows. "Why wouldn't we?"

"I don't know," he said, pausing. "I guess we would. But, um, I'm really tired after the day I've had."

Bethany removed her hand. "Oh, right. Sorry, I should've expected that." She smiled. "Get some rest, okay? And don't go disappearing into another book again."

He grinned a little at that, then crossed his heart. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

She rolled her eyes. "That's not even a real pledge!"

"Um, yes it is. Harry Potter is such a popular book series that it's practically one hundred percent real."

"Ha. Not even a little bit true." Bethany stood from her chair, and turned just in time to see Ms. Conners and her mother walking back in the room.

"It's pretty late, Beth," her mother said, looking a bit irritated as she checked her watch. "Ready to go?"

Bethany glanced back at Owen, who gave her a small smile in response. That was enough confirmation for her. He'd be perfectly fine. She looked back at her mother, and was suddenly unable to prevent the smile from tugging at her lips. Things would be okay, even if they weren't right now. "Yeah . . . I think I am."

* * *

 _"_ _Too far away to feel you, but I can't forget your skin. Wonder what you're up to, what state of mind you're in . . ."_


	17. Our World

_**The Best Is Yet To Come (by Sheppard)**_

 _"_ _Help me understand the best is yet to come. Take me by the hand before I come undone. 'Cause all this emptiness has left me feeling numb . . ."_

* * *

After spending another extra few hours in the hospital, Owen was released to go home, given a warning to not move his arm too much and to come back in a week for a checkup appointment. He was too exhausted to do much of anything, so both him and his mother had retreated to their rooms for sleep. Despite how tired he was, though, he doubted he'd have an easy time falling asleep. Not after the crazy day he had.

As Owen had recently found out in the car ride back from the hospital, his mother had gone a bit insane while he was gone, contacting every police station and hospital within four states. Obviously, the police hadn't been able to find him. They'd set up an investigation that lasted nearly three months, but since there were no leads, the search had ended. After about a year of searching on her own, his mother ultimately gave up, hoping that he would return home. And he did, but his timing was much later than he had wanted it to be.

When he got home, Owen was hesitant to go to sleep. He hadn't been home in ages, and it felt extremely weird to be back to a normal agenda. After a week, or apparently three years, of sleeping in a cot in a prison, it was strange to be back in his comfortable bed after what he'd been through. He was having some trouble adjusting, since he'd only been home for a few hours. Everything felt different.

Much to his relief, his bedroom hadn't changed much. He still had the same Star Wars themed bedspread, the same computer on his desk and the same boxes hidden under his bed, which contains sheets of the embarrassing Kiel Gnomenfoot fanfiction he once wrote when he was ten. Every shelf in the room still overflowed with books without covers or with splitting spines, and there were even still the collections of pages held together with rubber bands. It was comforting to know that at least _one_ thing was still the same.

After a long and emotional talk with his mother, he'd been sent to bed. He had told her the best explanation he could without sounding absolutely crazy . . . so he left out the part of him being trapped in a _Pick The Plot_ book. He tried making his story sound as close to the truth as possible without giving away Bethany's identity or the fact that the fictional world was real.

In his made-up story, he was wandering around town and got very lost. His phone didn't have any reception and was running low on battery, so there was no way to contact his mother. He ended up a long way from home, and instead of finding a way to get home he decided to learn how to live on his own for a short while. A week turned into a few months, and soon he found himself living in homeless shelters and trying to scrounge for money. Owen attempted to go home many times, but he didn't have money for a bus ticket and wasn't sure how he could walk home without directions. He wasn't even sure how long he'd been living on his own. In this scenario, he was forced to get a low-paying job and was able to make a small sum of money that would allow him to take a bus ride home.

This fake story, Owen concluded later, was very far from the truth but at least his mother believed it. She would probably never let him out of her sight again, and he didn't blame her. She was probably freaking out now that Owen was finally home, especially given the fact that he'd shown up at her doorstep with a broken arm and a complicated explanation. Once he agreed many times to never do that again, he was sent upstairs to get some sleep.

Sleep, however, didn't come. He was slightly traumatized after all that time in _Pick The Plot_ , and the memories of the past week were like a nightmare that never seemed to end. He was thankful to finally be somewhere safe and comfortable. He was even more thankful that Bethany was safe and out of harm's way; due to Nobody's selfishness, she'd been separated for some time, but now she was back to her regular half-fictional self. They'd both agreed that they wanted a break, and Owen guessed Kiel would feel the same way.

An hour or two passed, and Owen's eyelids grew heavy after a long time of watching the sky fade into darkness. As he willed for sleep to come, he thought about Kara. She had never really left his mind, but with the crazy events that happened today, his thoughts were all over the place. He wondered if she was okay, or if she was suffering. He couldn't imagine what she was going through right now. Being captured by the time agents sounded terrifying.

He wondered if he'd still be able to rescue her from the agents. Maybe he could ask Bethany to take him into Kara's book series, and then they could find her. He imagined rescuing her and bringing her back to his world, where she'd be safe from the Countess and any time agents who wished to hurt her. She would be free. Using magic, Kiel could build a house for her right down the street, so they'd be able to see each other often.

If she was here, he'd show her all the things he talked about when they were locked in the Time Security Agency together. He could show her _Star Wars_ , and board games, and normal things that she probably had never been able to enjoy, given that she was a prisoner. Of course, he'd give her real clothes to borrow, not that gross jumpsuit that all the time prisoners had to wear. He could introduce her to snow, which he guessed she had never seen before. He'd take her to all the places that he used to spend time at, like Max's Scoops, where him and Bethany bought ice cream many times, and the Napoleon Bakery store, where he used to go with his mother.

Obviously, she'd also get to meet Bethany and Kiel, and they could all have a nice, short break before the time came when they had to defeat Nobody. It'd be a few weeks — maybe longer — of relaxing and having fun. And maybe Kara would try to kiss him on the cheek again, but maybe not, because everyone would see and that would be completely embarrassing. Then, Owen realized something. Why was he thinking of Kara kissing him on the cheek? It wasn't like he _liked_ her or anything, not like a crush. That would be weird.

He liked Charm, who was awesome and smart and so inexplicably _cool,_ and just the thought of her made Owen's robotic heart beat a little faster. He really wished he could see her again. Last he saw of her, she was in the comic book world, fighting with Bethany and Gwen against the Dark. He had no doubt that she was doing just fine. She was probably back in Quanterium, ruling over the people as their President. It would be great if she were here too, but she was used to such a technologically advanced lifestyle that he doubted she'd be very impressed with the nonfictional world.

Now that Owen had his first chance to relax, he thought about almost everything. There were still unanswered questions, and there were so many things he had missed over the past three years. It brought pain to his chest just to think about it. Owen had hoped something good would come out of this situation of him suddenly being fifteen years-old, so he measured his height when he got home. Instead of having a huge growth spurt like most boys do, Owen had only grown a few inches, making him shorter than majority of boys his age.

There were other changes that were weighing on him. He wondered what would happen now that he was home. Would he go to school again? It didn't sound like the most comforting idea. He _was_ also grounded, so there was that factor. Last time he'd gone to school was in seventh grade, and he wasn't even sure what grade he'd be in now. Ninth? Tenth? Eleventh? He had no clue. He'd have to ask Bethany the next time he saw her.

A small "meow" was heard from the doorway of his bedroom, and Owen turned to see Spike standing there. The cat walked over and vaulted himself at Owen's bed, landing right at his feet. After looking around for a good sleeping spot, Spike cuddled up beside Owen's outstretched leg.

The boy smiled and leaned over to scratch his ears. "At least _you're_ still here. You're not mad at me too, are you?"

Spike only purred in response. Owen withdrew his hand and sat back in bed, adjusting his cast. With a final look around the room, he flicked off his lamp on the table beside his bed.

For the first time in a week — or, actually _three years_ — he felt safe. He was finally home, and if it were up to him at this moment, he would never leave. He loved books too much, and eventually, he knew he would go back. But for now, he would listen to his mother. He would stay here, where there weren't any dinosaurs to eat him or villains to kill him. He would hang out with Bethany and Kiel, and for a while, he'd forget about the bad stuff.

For the first time, there was nowhere he'd rather be but here. The real world used to bore him, with school and chores and homework. Those things were still boring, but it felt good to finally have a sense of security. The fictional world might've given him excitement, and adventures — as well as fear — but there was one thing it didn't give him, and that was his _home_. And he was more than ready to experience that again.

* * *

 _Kiel pushed open the door of the upside-down tower and stepped inside right before slamming it shut behind him. He was late,_ especially _late. He hurried into the Magister's study, taking a quick scope of the room. As always, every wall had bookcases, which held an overflowing amount of books, spells, potion recipes, and other interesting objects that even Kiel never knew about._

 _As he walked inside in a hurry, Alphonse flew into the air from his spot on a table, landing on the boy magician's shoulder. Kiel grinned, turning to address his winged cat. "Good morning, Alphonse."_

 _"_ _You're late, Kiel," said a man's voice as he got to the middle of the room._

 _"_ _I'm not_ that _late," Kiel said, turning around to see the Magister sitting in a chair. "Well, I am. But you never get mad at me for stuff like that, do you? I'm not worried."_

 _"_ _You should be," the Magister said in a dangerously low tone, which made him stop in his tracks._

 _Kiel gave his teacher a confused look, his blood turning cold. "What? Why?"_

 _The Magister stood up, and looked away from him, his eyes only on the room around them. "It's slowly taking over everyone and everything. It consumes your very being and washes you away as if you were nothing." He turned to look at Kiel and quickly walked over to him, looking more terrified than Kiel had ever seen him. He grabbed the boy by his shoulders. "There won't be an escape from this."_

 _"_ _What?" Kiel tried moving away, but the Magister dug his fingernails deep into his shoulders, and he gasped. He thrashed around, trying to get away. "What is_ wrong _with you? Stop it! You're — you're scaring me!"_

 _"_ _I'm scaring_ you _?" The Magister suddenly laughed, letting go of Kiel. "Oh, my dear apprentice. At last, you admit you're afraid. You admit it, after years and years of pretending the feelings aren't there! You think I don't know how you hide all of your fears, all of your worries?" He shook his head. "What would everyone think if they knew your fear? They would laugh at you, that's what they would do. You're_ pathetic _. You know why? Because you're fictional, and you'll never be able to satisfy your friends. You can try to fit in with the nonfictional world, but your fictional-ness will catch up with you, and you'll realize that you_ never _belonged there. You think Bethany and Owen want to hear about your problems? You think they care? They don't._ I'm _the only one who truly cares about you."_

 _Kiel stepped back with a scowl. His voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. "That's not true._ Shut up _. I've changed. You don't care about me, and you don't know anything about me!"_

 _"_ _You're wrong. I know everything about you. It's true, Kiel," the Magister said, looking at him with a pitying expression. "_ Everyone _is afraid now, not just you and me. But you've got it wrong: I'm not what you should fear." He pointed to the wall behind them. "_ That _is."_

 _Kiel whipped his head around and gasped at the sight. There was a gigantic vortex, which was small at first but grew larger and larger. Half of the wall was missing, and the vortex continued to suck up everything in it's path, drawling books, tables, and even tiles on the floor toward it. Objects flew all around the room and darted straight towards the vortex like a magnet. Once they passed through the vortex — they were completely gone. The vortex was consuming everything in its path._

 _"_ _We need to stop it," Kiel said, backing away and pulling his wand-knives out of their sheaths. He pointed his wand-knives at the vortex, his hair and clothes blowing violently in the wind. He tried to think of a spell that might get rid of the vortex, but for some reason none came to mind. He growled in frustration. Why couldn't he remember a single spell?_

 _"_ _Magic won't work on it," the Magister said, his voice utterly calm compared to a moment ago. "This can't be stopped. It will destroy everything in its wake, and there is no stopping the pure possibility from taking over our world. It's too powerful."_

 _Pure possibility? For some reason, this seemed important to Kiel. Like something he should know. But he couldn't remember what it meant. He shook his head at the Magister. "There is_ always _a way to stop evil. There has to be some spell for this."_

 _"_ _I'm sorry, my apprentice. But this cannot be stopped." The Magister walked straight into the vortex, disappearing completely. When he walked through, the vortex only seemed to grow larger and stronger, and it pulled at Kiel with all its might, who fought to stay on his feet._

 _"_ _No!" the boy shouted, trying to see into the whirling vortex. "Magi, where did you go?! What am I supposed to do?"_

 _Before he knew it, his feet were leaving the ground. He shouted in surprise, waving his arms around as he tried to fight against the pull. It didn't do anything to help. He was sucked towards the vortex, and he let out one final shout of terror before the darkness enveloped him, and he no longer existed._

 _Suddenly, he heard a voice, but it wasn't coming from a person. It echoed all around him, and he could somehow hear it despite no longer existing. "Kiel?"_

 _Kiel looked around in confusion, unsure where the voice was coming from. All that surrounded him was white nothingness, and as far as he could tell, there was no one in here with him. He wasn't even sure if he was a person still. He didn't have control over his own body, nor could he tell if he still had a body. He attempted to raise his hands, just to make sure he still had a body, but nothing happened. Hmm, so maybe he_ didn't _have a body —_

 _"_ _Kiel?" the voice asked again, and he recognized it. It sounded immensely familiar, and it brought him some comfort to hear it. After the person continued repeating his name, he concluded that it was a girl. But he couldn't pinpoint who it was. Then, the world faded around him, and the vortex vanished._

"Kiel. Wake up." Kiel blinked, raising his head from the desk to find himself in English class, of all places. He didn't even remember coming here! Hadn't he just been in the Magister's tower? How had he ended up here?

"Are you okay?" Bethany whispered from beside him. He realized that she was the one who'd been calling his name. He nodded, although the wink he normally would've sent her didn't come, even when he tried to force it out.

"Good to see you've joined us, Mr. Bauer," the teacher said as the other students stared at Kiel, not giggling like they normally would when Bethany fell asleep. Weirdly, they looked a little bit concerned. But why? He'd only been sleeping.

"Sorry about that," Kiel said, unsure why he had fallen asleep in the first place. After his belt disappeared out of nowhere last night, he had given in to his exhaustion and fell asleep a few hours earlier than usual. When he woke up this morning, he felt that same groggy sensation, and he still felt it now. He didn't understand why he was so tired, but he figured that this dream had to be a sign. It was trying to tell him something, maybe that the fictionals were all in even _more_ danger than before. It was likely that they were.

Truth be told, he was growing worried. He usually never worried unless it was an extremely unsettling problem, and this certainly seemed like one. On top of being constantly tired and unfocused, he was afraid for his own safety. What would happen if more of his possessions disappeared? Soon, he might disappear along with them. Was this why he'd been so tired since last night? Was his body . . . _no_ , he couldn't think like that. There had to be some way to fix this all on his own. There would be.

The last thing he wanted to do was tell his friends, who would only worry even more than they had been already. No, they deserved a break. Owen especially, after all he'd been through. Kiel couldn't do that to them. It'd be selfish on his part. He'd fix this on his own, and if there wasn't a way to fix this . . . well, he'd still try. He wasn't one to back down from a challenge.

"I talked to Owen on the phone this morning," Bethany said later that day as they ate lunch together.

Kiel yawned at that moment, but quickly turned it into a cough. "How's he doing? Is he okay?"

"He's better than he was yesterday," she said. "He got out of the hospital a few hours after I left. But for now, he's grounded. His mom doesn't want him leaving his house under any circumstances."

"Wow," he said, shaking his head as he took a bite of his sandwich. "That's kind of rude." He put down his sandwich, turning to Bethany with a frown. "Wait, so he can't go to the library or anything?"

"No. But I'm sure his mom will let him go out once he's been here for a while. She can't keep him locked up forever, can she?"

"I don't know," Kiel muttered, blinking rapidly in an effort to wake himself up. "Hey, do you want to go over his house tonight? I doubt his mom can restrict him from seeing _me_." He grinned lazily at her. "Maybe the same couldn't be said for you —"

Bethany slapped him in the arm, laughing despite her attempt to look mad. He was laughing too. "Rude. _You_ were the one who wasn't at the hospital last night. What was that about?"

"Oh." He looked down at the table, scratching his ear. His smile faded. "Sorry, I couldn't make it. I was . . . I, um . . . I forgot."

She gave him a quizzical look. "You forgot?"

Kiel shook his head. "No. I forgot what I was going to say." He forced a wink as she just stared at him, appearing concerned. He turned back to his sandwich and continued eating, trying his best to fight the tiredness off. It clung to him like a dark shadow, not letting go for one second. In his daze, he barely noticed her staring at him for the rest of lunch. All he heard were the loud conversations of kids around him, but somehow, the room felt quiet.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunchtime. Kiel flashed a tired smile at Liz, who'd been quietly sitting next to Bethany for the second half of lunch. He didn't notice her face turning red in response. Briefly, he wondered if Bethany had told her about Owen. She probably hadn't. Not many people knew Owen was back yet, since he'd been at home all day.

Kiel stood from the table and threw his leftovers into the trash can, Bethany right behind him. As he started walking blindly toward the cafeteria doors, she grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him back. "Seriously?"

"What?" he asked, looking over her shoulder at the table he'd just been sitting at. "I didn't forget anything, did I?"

"No." She sighed, twisting her fingers together. "Look, you've been acting weird all day. You seem really tired. There are dark circles under your eyes, and you haven't winked at me all day, which is shocking for you."

Kiel raised his eyebrows. "I'm completely fine. I'm wide awake, see? And I _can_ wink." Just to prove his point, he winked. But by the look on her face, he couldn't tell how successful his attempt was.

"What's going on?" Bethany asked, looking more concerned than anything.

"Nothing's going on," he said. "Really, I'm fine. I've never been better! Owen's back, so why _wouldn't_ I be fine?"

"I don't know," she said, shaking her head. "But just so you know, I'm not one-hundred percent great either. It's okay to admit if you don't feel okay, Kiel."

For a second, he thought about telling her the truth. She'd understand, wouldn't she? She was Bethany, the girl who consumed his thoughts nearly all the time, the girl who he went on adventures with, the girl who opened his eyes to an entirely new world. She had been fictional once, so she probably had at least some idea of what could be happening.

But no, he couldn't tell her about this. It wasn't only the tiredness that was bothering him. Deep down, he was terrified. And these types of emotions scared him even further, because he wasn't even sure how to stop this. How _was_ he supposed to fix this? What if he disappeared? Why was he growing more and more tired with every minute that passed? There were so many questions that simply couldn't be answered.

If he opened up to her or Owen about this issue, they'd worry. They'd want to fix it, and then eventually, they'd realize that they couldn't. It was his problem, not theirs. Why should he drag them into it? They wouldn't understand, anyway. And if he told them he was afraid? Surely, they would laugh at him. He never told them about him being afraid, not verbally.

 _Yeah_ , Kiel thought as he stared at Bethany. _Not worth it._

A forced smile tugged at his lips. "Sorry, Beth. I'm a little bit tired, but it's nothing I can't handle. It isn't a crime to be tired, is it?"

She rolled her eyes. "I never said it was. But it seems like something is wrong. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah!" he said, straightening his spine. "I gotta get to class, but I can meet you at Owen's tonight."

"Don't worry about meeting me there," she said, adjusting the strap on her backpack as they walked into the hallway. "It's supposed to snow tonight. I'll have my mom drive us there."

"Okay," he said as they parted ways. "But for your information, I love walking in snow! It's so unpredictable, you know? The more danger, the better."

"Even if it's a blizzard?" Bethany asked, unable to contain the small laugh that escaped her.

He couldn't help but smile; he really loved it when she laughed. Not that he loved _her_ , like Elijah claimed he did. That wasn't true at all. She was special to him, of course, but that didn't mean he felt that way about her. Being around her felt more like being engulfed by the sun. When she was happy, it made Kiel feel brighter. He especially loved it when she wasn't worried, when she was simply enjoying herself in the midst of danger. He wished he could take all of her worries away so that she could enjoy herself more often.

"I don't know what that is, but _yes_."

* * *

"Owen!" his mother called. "Your friends are here to see you!"

It was late in the afternoon, close to nighttime. Most of the day had been uneventful, aside from the discussion Owen had with his mother this morning. She had decided to stay home today, claiming that she needed to take care of him. But Owen knew the simple truth: she didn't trust him to stay home alone. It was obvious that she didn't.

Since Owen was grounded, he also wasn't allowed to leave the house. He should've expected this, but surprisingly, he hadn't. For some reason, he wasn't even allowed to go to the _library._ What was up with that? Eventually, he assumed his mother would trust him enough to allow him to go places. He wasn't sure how much longer he could take this separation from his beloved library. If he stayed home until September, he'd be bored out of his mind.

His mother had also decided that he would be homeschooled until the upcoming school year, which apparently would be his junior year. During the time of his grounding, he would study the subjects he had missed: math, English, history, and science. Once his mother went back to work on Monday, this would be his new schedule. He'd never been homeschooled before, but he knew one thing: this would be incredibly boring.

Owen would've preferred working at the library over studying at home. If he did that, he would be less bored, and he'd be surrounded by books. The library was his favorite place, after all. Instead of getting what he wanted, however, he would stay at home and study each day until further notice. The very idea of this aggravated him to no end. He had missed three years worth of schoolwork! Did she really expect him to learn all of this new information by next September? Adding onto that, when would he spend time with Bethany and Kiel? It was unfair!

This morning, somewhere during the time Bethany was at school, she'd called him on the phone. It wasn't _his_ phone that she called him on, since he'd lost his phone when he was back in _Pick The Plot_. Instead, she called Owen's mother, and in turn his mother let him borrow her phone. They had talked for as long as they were able until Bethany had to go to class. Bethany had mentioned something about Kiel falling asleep in their English class, but Owen hadn't really remembered the details.

Later on in the afternoon, around lunchtime, Bethany called him again about hanging out tonight. She hadn't mentioned anything about the fictional world or jumping into books. After everything that happened, neither of them had even brought it up. Them, including Kiel, needed a chance to breathe and decide exactly how to navigate this situation.

A break would be acceptable for awhile, but soon, they'd have to make a plan for defeating Nobody. Owen wasn't too optimistic about this, but he didn't want to think about that right now. The very idea of facing Nobody for a final time was enough to make him shudder. As long as his friends were with him, though, he was certain things would _maybe_ be okay. Maybe.

"Coming!" Owen shouted. He flew from his spot on the the couch, almost falling over in excitement as he raced to the door. The thought of seeing his best friends again was enough to raise his spirits to their peak. It would be nice to have a distraction from his boredom and broken arm.

His mother was already at the door, Kiel and Bethany standing in front of her. Kiel looked visibly tired, but he brightened when Owen came around the corner. Bethany had been talking to Ms. Conners when Owen walked up to them, but they stopped their conversation when he came over.

"You're here! Hi!" he said, stepping forward to hug his friends. Kiel grinned and reached over to ruffle Owen's hair before pulling him into a quick hug. When Owen pulled away, he hugged Bethany.

Much to Owen's surprise, his mother had her coat on. He tilted his head. "Uh, where are you going? I thought you were staying home all day."

"I'm about to head out," she replied. "I need to stop by the library now that you have company." She glanced at Kiel and Bethany. "Owen shouldn't be home alone at the moment, so —"

" _Mom_ ," Owen groaned. "They already know I'm grounded. We know what to do."

She gave him a look. "I'm not finished. You stay in the house and you don't leave unless I say so."

As Bethany stared at the ground in silence and Kiel shifted awkwardly between them, Owen nodded. "Will do. We'll be fine."

Before he could protest, his mother grabbed him by the shoulders and hugged him tightly. When she let go, her face softened, and she even smiled. " _Have fun_. I'll be back in a couple of hours." She moved to the door and opened it, sending a gust of frigid air inside the house. "And don't forget to order dinner! Don't let your friends starve!" she shouted, right before she closed the door on her way out.

Owen let out a breath, not realizing until now how tense his body was. _Yikes_.

"I thought we wouldn't be able to come over," Bethany said, turning to face the two. "She seems really . . . mad."

"Yeah," Kiel added with a light frown. "Wouldn't she be happier now that you're home?"

"She is," Owen said, then he sighed. "I mean, she kind of is. She's just not used to me being home, I guess. I think she's still mad."

"What did you tell her? Did you tell her about what happened?"

He shook his head. "I made up this long, elaborate story about me running away. I'm pretty sure she believes me, but now she won't let me out of her sight." At the slightly disapproving look on Kiel's face, he added, "I gotta keep this a secret. If she finds out that fictional characters have tried to kill me every time we go into a book then she's not gonna let me be your friend anymore!"

"But she's been worried sick about you," Kiel defended. "I get why _I_ needed to hide my identity, because I'm Kiel Gnomenfoot, the greatest hero of all time." He smiled at that. "But your mom deserves to know the truth. Same with _your_ mom, Bethany. Seriously, why can't either of you tell your parents the truth? It isn't like they're going to turn you into toads."

"I already told you about this," Bethany said, looking a little annoyed. "I don't plan on telling my mom a single thing. She'd only hold me back from jumping into books! I still need to bring Dad home, and we still need to defeat . . ." She trailed off as Owen's face blanched. "But, I'll tell her everything once my father is returned home safety."

"I _would_ tell my mom, but she wouldn't believe me," Owen said, lifting his shoulders up and down. "I'm already in trouble enough as it is."

"So you can't leave the house? Not even to go to the library?" Kiel questioned, yawning.

"Nope. I hope she'll let me go there soon, but she doesn't trust me enough right now. But I'm going to be homeschooled until the next school year, so that'll be starting next week."

Bethany gasped. "What? You _are_? You won't be coming to school?"

"Nope," Owen repeated, flinging his arm in the air.

"What's 'homeschooled'?" Kiel asked, yawning again.

"It's when kids are taught education at home instead of school," Bethany supplied. She cringed. "Wow, Owen. Your mom is more mad than I thought."

"Yeah, you have no idea," Owen breathed. They stood in silence for a few seconds, simply staring at each other as the tension wafted out of the room. He didn't want to talk anymore about his mother or the situation with Nobody. Tonight was only about having fun, not about stress.

"So," he began as he trotted over to the kitchen, changing the subject. He glanced back at them every few seconds. "My mom said you guys need to leave by 9:00." He made a face. "I'd rather have you sleep over, but . . . you know. She's been kind of overprotective all day." He sat down at the kitchen table. "What do you wanna do?"

"Could we watch a movie?" Kiel requested hopefully.

Bethany laughed a little at that, looking a lot less annoyed now that they were focused on something else. "Oh, right. I forgot we watched the first Kiel Gnomenfoot movie together." She looked at Owen. "That happened a few months ago, when I didn't have my memories back."

Wait, Bethany and Kiel had watched a movie that was based off of the greatest book of all time — _without_ him? He pouted. " _Aww_. You guys saw it without me? I didn't know the movie came out yet!"

"It came out a few years ago," Bethany said. "Don't you remem—" She cut herself off before she could finish the word, but Owen knew what she was about to say. She quickly looked away. "Yeah, I think a movie sounds like a good idea. It's not like we can get into any trouble with that. Unless we jumped into one or something."

Owen's eyes widened, and he slowly started to smile. " _Can_ you jump into one? That'd be so cool! Imagine if you jumped into _Spider-Man,_ or _Star Wars_ , or any of the other movies —"

She pointed a finger at him. "Don't even think about it. I'm not going to try that."

" _Spider_ - _Man_?" Kiel asked, rubbing his eyes as he leaned against the kitchen counter. "You mean like the comics?"

"Yeah, exactly!" Owen exclaimed. "But they made movies based on it, along with all the other superheroes." An idea formed in his head, and he stood up, walking over to the living room. "Do you guys wanna watch a superhero movie?"

"Not really," Bethany muttered, loud enough for Owen to hear. But he didn't acknowledge her. She was technically a superhero, after all. It was ridiculous if she didn't want to watch a superhero movie! Why _wouldn't_ she want to watch Marvel?

"Any movie is good with me," Kiel said, following Owen into the room. "I've only seen the one based on my first book. I wouldn't recommend it, though. It looks nothing like the real version! And I'm much better-looking than that guy who was pretending to me."

"Yeah, yeah," Owen said absently, as he picked up the remote and turned the TV on. "They're all just acting. When a movie is based off a book, the actors don't usually look how they should. Like in _Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief_. That movie was terrible. Right, Twilight Girl?"

As Kiel snickered at the mention of Bethany's superhero name, Owen turned his head towards the kitchen. "Bethany?"

"I'm coming!" she said, and appeared in the room a few seconds later. She was holding a tall can that looks suspiciously like whipped cream. She smiled. "Want some? I brought it from my house."

"Yes please _._ "Owen reached for it, and with some difficulty, he yanked the cap off. He then tilted his head back and poured it into his mouth. He opened his mouth and grinned, his teeth coated with white filling.

"Gross," Bethany muttered, but he could tell she was trying not to laugh. She sat down on the couch and squeezed in right next to Kiel, who was already seated with his eyes glued to the TV. Owen plopped down on the other side of Kiel and handed the remote to Bethany, who would have much less trouble navigating the TV channels since she didn't have a broken arm.

"Want any?" Owen asked, tapping Kiel's arm with the can of whipped cream. Kiel crinkled his eyebrows and turned to look at it before silently shaking his head. Owen shrugged, then sprayed another dose of whipped cream into his mouth. "Suit yourself."

"Hey," Bethany spoke up, pointing at the screen. "Do you want to watch _Moana_?"

" _Moana_?" Kiel repeated, raising an eyebrow. He grinned. "What is that, another movie that's based off a book?"

"Um, _no_ ," Owen said. "It's a Disney movie, and I _love_ it. Well, I love all Disney movies, not just this one. But this one has a great soundtrack. You'll love it, Kiel." Then his eyes widened. He snapped his fingers at Bethany. "Wait! Kiel hasn't seen a movie besides _Kiel Gnomenfoot: Magic Thief_ , right?"

"Nope," she said, a subtle smile tracing her lips. " _Moana_ will be _much_ better than that one."

"I thought you said you liked my movie!" Kiel said, looking slightly offended.

Bethany snorted. "I blame that all on my nonfictional half. The movie was okay, but it wasn't as good compared to some." She glanced at Owen for confirmation. "So, we're watching _Moana_?"

Owen nodded, trying not to smile too hard as he sunk further into the couch. Once he got comfortable, he tossed a blanket across their laps for the three of them to share. "Yep!"

Bethany started the movie, and Kiel leaned forward, resting his head on his hands as he stared intently at the screen. When the first song started playing, Owen couldn't help himself. He started singing the lyrics. At first, he was only mumbling to himself. But as the song continued, he got louder, loud enough for Kiel to give him a strange look.

" _Owen_ ," Bethany groaned, simultaneously laughing as she tried to sound annoyed. "You're seriously the worst."

He laughed, cutting himself off for a second to respond to her. " _How far will you go_ to make me stop?"

"Shut up."

* * *

The rest of the evening was filled with relaxation and fun. Much to Owen's delight, they all agreed to order pizza for dinner and between the three of them, they greedily consumed an entire pizza as they watched the movie. Kiel had enjoyed the song "You're Welcome" the most, and at some point after the song finished playing, he had fallen asleep. His head had been resting on Bethany's shoulder for the past hour, but if she noticed, she didn't say anything.

After watching _Moana_ , Bethany and Owen decided to watch _Newsies_ , given the fact that Bethany had never seen it and Owen loved musicals. The ending credits had just begun rolling when the sound of the front door opening was heard down the hall. Owen perked his head up, quickly consuming another mouthful of whipped cream before his mother came over and saw.

"Owen!" his mother called, sounding a little bit frantic as she rushed down the hallway and appeared in the living room. She exhaled slowly when she saw him, the tension leaving her shoulders. She walked over to them and glanced over at the TV. "What movie did you watch?"

" _Moana_ ," Owen said. "And then we watched _Newsies_."

"Sounds fun," she said. She then looked at Kiel, who was resting comfortably against Bethany. "Oh, you should wake him up. Bethany's mom will be here soon."

"Okay, Ms. Conners," Bethany said, her smile suddenly mischievous. As Owen's mother walked into the kitchen, she tore the can of whipped cream from Owen's fingers.

"Hey!" he shouted, reaching over to grab it back, only for her to hold it far out of his reach. "Give it back! What are you —" Then, he saw the way she was looking at Kiel, and realization struck him. " _Oh_. Ohhhh. So you're saying we should —"

"Shh!" Bethany said, raising a finger to her lips as she tried not to laugh. Gently, she lifted Kiel's head from her shoulder, repositioning him on the couch. He didn't even stir. He continued to sleep, his snoring barely audible. As Owen tried not to loose it, she held the bottle above his head and pressed down on the button, sending a flurry of whipped cream all in his hair.

"Do his face!" Owen whispered, holding a hand over his mouth to prevent himself from bursting into a fit of giggles. Bethany's grin widened. She sprayed more whipped cream, this time all over Kiel's face; it covered everywhere except for his nose and eyes, which they figured would've been cruel to put whipped cream on.

When their work was finished, Bethany sat back, placing the cap back over the can. She rubbed her hands together as they both stared at their sleeping friend. Owen frowned, standing up and nudging Kiel with his foot. "Huh. He's still not waking up."

"Why don't we try slapping him on the face?" she suggested.

"No." Owen shook his head. "There has to be a less boring way to do it."

"Any way we wake him up won't be boring. And slapping him _is_ funny," Bethany said, crossing her arms. "What's a better way to do it?"

"Watch and learn," he said. Before she could stop him, he leaned forward and screamed at the top of his lungs, straight into Kiel's ear.

Right away, the boy magician shrieked, sitting straight up and putting a hand to his face. When he pulled his hand away, a pile of whipped cream was on top of it. His eyes widened, and he ran his hands all along his face, which smeared the whipped cream even more. He glared at them, but it was hard to take him seriously with whipped cream covering his face, parts of his shirt, and his hair. "What did you put on my face?"

"Not . . . just . . . your face," Bethany said in-between fits of laughter. Owen was on the floor; he was laughing so hard that he had nearly slammed his cast into the wall.

Kiel reached up to feel his hair, then pulled away with a scowl. His look of disgust quickly turned into a more mischievous grin, and before Owen knew what was happening, Kiel lunged forward. He placed both of his whipped cream-covered hands all over Owen's hair, causing whipped cream to fall all over the place.

"Hey!" Owen shouted, laughing as he blindly held up a hand to defend himself. He scrambled away, watching with amusement as Kiel advanced on Bethany.

She slowly backed away, her hands in front of her. " _No_ ,"she said as Kiel suddenly ran towards her. _"_ No! Kiel, _don't you dare_!"

Ten minutes later, the three of them were standing in front of the kitchen sink, attempting to wash the mess they'd made off their clothes, face, and hair. After a prolonged fight that resulted in whipped cream all over the floors, Owen's mother had caught them and told them (more specifically, Owen) to clean it up immediately.

Kiel had just finished rinsing his hair underneath the faucet of the sink, taking the longest to get all of the whipped cream off given the amount that had been on him. As he rubbed a towel over his head, Bethany jokingly commented, "You should've kept the whipped cream in your hair, Kiel. It made you look cute."

Kiel stopped what he was doing and stared at her, clearly caught off-guard. The slightest tinge of pink formed on his cheeks. "Of course it did! I mean, yes. Thanks."

Owen smiled in disbelief. Wait, Kiel didn't have a crush on _Bethany,_ did he? He wasn't even sure if the idea was possible; they'd always just been close friends! But the more Owen thought about it, the more it actually started to make sense. There were all those times Bethany and Kiel had jumped into books without him. And that time when Bethany was in danger of drowning; Kiel had been so quiet that whole day.

His best friend most likely had a crush on his other best friend, and it surprisingly didn't make Owen feel a twinge of jealousy in any way. He had already suspected it when they were twelve, and it was obvious that even three years later Kiel still had feelings for Bethany. But now, at least judging from the expression on Kiel's face, they appeared to be much stronger. He wasn't sure about Bethany's side of it, but he wouldn't be surprised if Bethany liked Kiel back.

A knock was heard at the door, and the sounds of Owen's mother rushing down the hallway came a moment after. Bethany visibly wilted when they heard the door opening, and Mrs. Sanderson's voice rung out through the house. "Owen!" Ms. Conners yelled, after they'd been talking for a minute. "Bethany's mom is here!"

Owen sighed, realizing that their blissful time together was over. He readjusted the cast on his broken arm before walking over to the front of the house, his friends beside him. When Bethany's mother saw them, she gasped, looking mostly at Kiel, who's hair was soaked. "What happened? Your hair is wet!"

Kiel winked. "Things got a little crazy. There was a fight with that white cream."

"Whipped cream," Owen corrected under his breath.

"Things weren't _too_ crazy," Bethany added, her hand pressed against Owen's shoulder.

"Well, I see you've had fun," Mrs. Sanderson said. She looked at Owen. "How's your arm, Owen? And how are you? I've been meaning to ask since you just got home."

Owen's smile faded. He felt everyone's eyes on him, and he cast his eyes to the ground, feeling ashamed at the mention of his situation. It was only a reminder that he was pretty much useless. "It's fine. I'm still getting used to the cast."

"I hope it feels better soon," Bethany's mother said. "Ready to go, Beth? And Kiel?"

"Yes," Kiel said, and at the same time Bethany nodded. Mrs. Sanderson gave them a small wave before saying wishing them goodnight and walking out of the room.

As Owen's mother walked back upstairs, Kiel turned to Owen and gave him a hug. Undeniably, Owen noticed that Kiel was much taller than him. This little detail was slightly irritating, but he brushed it off and wrapped his non-injured arm around the boy magician, hugging him back the best he could.

Kiel stepped back, dropping his arms before glancing at Bethany. "I'm gonna go to the car."

"I'll be there in a second," she said. Kiel nodded and walked outside into the cold, dark night. Bethany stared at Owen for a few seconds in silence, thinly veiling her disappointment. She sighed, then threw her arms around Owen's neck. He closed his eyes, standing slightly on his toes so that he could rest his head on her shoulder. Saying goodbye for the second time wasn't that easy, especially when he'd just reunited with her yesterday.

"Oh, I just remembered something!" Bethany said suddenly, jumping out of the hug much too soon. "I joined the school book club about a year ago and they always have meetings on Saturday mornings. It's held at the school. Do you want to come with me?"

"Wait, you're at a book club?" Owen asked, perking up.

"Yeah. So do you wanna go?"

"Um." He chewed the inside of his lip. "Okay, yeah. I _really_ do. I've always wanted to go to a book club! That's been my dream since forever!" Then his smile faded as he realized something. "But . . . I'm grounded. I don't know if my mom will let me go."

Bethany crossed her arms. "Why wouldn't she? She's known me for years! She can't just keep you locked in your house all the time. She's gotta let you out at _some_ point."

"I know," he said. "But I don't really blame her. She's probably afraid I'll try to run away again."

"Maybe you can sneak out," she said, lowering her voice to a whisper.

He gasped. " _Bethany_! I've never — I've never snuck out before! I'm not supposed to leave the house."

"You'll be fine. I've done it before. If your mom is working at the library tomorrow, meet me at my house. We can get a ride from my mom and she'll take us there."

"But . . . but I _really_ don't want to stress my mom out more than she already is," Owen said. "What if she comes home and I'm not there? I don't like this idea at all."

"Just think about it, okay?" She patted him on the shoulder, then gave him a smug smile. "If you're too scared that you're going to get caught, then you don't have to come."

He scowled. "I'm not scared!"

"Good." She moved to the door and pulled on her coat. "Then come to the book club! I promise you won't regret it."

Then, she went outside, leaving him with his thoughts. Owen knew that he really, _really_ wanted to go to this book club. Ever since middle school, he'd always wanted to be in one. The thought of talking for hours about books, his favorite thing in the world, was enough to get him excited. But the cons of this situation were much worse. If he got caught, his mother would surely kill him. _Oh boy._ Tomorrow was going to be interesting.

* * *

On Saturday morning, Owen was eating breakfast, his nerves high with the knowledge of what he was about to do. All throughout his life, he had never gotten into trouble. He never disobeyed his mother, skipped class, or yelled at teachers. Aside from his proneness to daydreaming, he'd always been a great student and son. Up until now, his record had been completely clean. He had just come home two days ago, and since his mother was still wary and cautious around him, she forbid him from going anywhere out of the house.

Now, here he was, about to do the exact opposite of what he was told.

While she went to work, he was going to sneak out. _Sneak out!_ The very idea of it was terrifying, but he couldn't help feeling a little rush of excitement about all of this. For the first time, he was purposely breaking the rules. He'd never done anything like this before, but he knew it would be worth it. If he didn't go, he'd never get to attend the book club! This was one of his lifelong dreams, and he would regret it if he never got to go to a book club.

His mother watched with amusement as he ate piece after piece, his stomach a bottomless pit due to his nerves. "We aren't going to run out of toast, Owen."

He smiled nervously, taking another bite. "I know. Just hungry."

"You might want to stop eating then, because with what I'm about to tell you, you won't be able to eat anything else."

Owen immediately set his half-eaten piece of toast down, eagerly leaning forward in his chair. He finished chewing. "Okay, I'm ready. What is it?"

His mother placed her mug of coffee on the table. "I was thinking how much you've wanted a dog all your life, and I thought 'why not?' So do you want to get one?"

"A dog?" he asked. A grin slowly formed into his face. "A dog! Really?"

Owen's mother nodded, smiling. "We can go get one after work today."

"What made you change your mind?" he asked, nearly shaking with excitement.

She shrugged, leaning forward against the countertop. "Just because you've asked for one for so long. And now that you're home, I feel like you deserve one."

Owen had always wanted a dog. Probably his entire life. But after visiting his fictional self and discovering that Fowen had a cat named Spike, he decided to take Spike as a pet. Now that he was getting a dog, though, that changed everything. He felt _so_ happy. After years of begging for a dog, he'd finally gotten one.

The only thing that dimmed his excitement, however, was the fact that his mother was getting this as a guilt present. And somehow, that made him feel worse.

"You don't need to get one," he said quickly. Then added, "Not if you don't want one. I know you prefer cats."

His mother smiled, then walked over and ruffled his hair. "Owen, don't try to make me change my mind. You've always wanted a dog, so we're getting a dog."

"We can still keep Spike, right?"

She nodded. "Of course. If you promise to feed both of them. And you'll need to train our dog when I'm at work."

Owen nodded vigorously. "That I can do. I promise I'll take care of both of them."

"Okay." She smiled again, then picked up her purse and walked to the door. "Have a nice day!"

"You too!" Owen shouted as he heard the sound of the door closing. He couldn't _believe_ his luck. A real dog! He couldn't wait to walk it everywhere, and feed it, and clean it, and play with it —

Just then, his fictional cat Spike leaped onto the kitchen table, knocking over Owen's glass of milk. "Hey!" he yelled, and his heart nearly stopped beating as he watched the glass fall to the ground. Only for it to stop in midair.

"Uh?" Owen blinked, then laughed when he realized his time powers must've kicked in without him realizing it. He snatched the glass from the air and set it back on the table, releasing his hold on time.

"Bad cat," he said, glaring at Spike. The cat only stared, then turned around and hopped off the table.

"I'm not going to ignore you once we get a dog, if that's what your mad about!" Owen called after the cat. He sighed and turned back to eating his meal. Once he was done, he put his dishes in the sink and raced up to his room, changing out of his pajamas.

It took him several minutes longer than usual to find a descent pair of clothes, given the fact that all the clothes he currently owned were too small for him. So far, he'd been borrowing his mother's clothes. It was embarrassing, but at least his mother had some clothes that were unisex. Luckily, she said she would take him shopping tomorrow for new clothes, so there was that.

Once he found a good pair of jeans and a long-sleeved sweater that looked as boyish as possible, Owen ran downstairs and threw open the door, slamming it behind him. He stepped outside. He looked left, then right, then left again, searching for any sign that his mother or a neighbor could be watching him. If he got caught, he was going to get into _so_ much trouble. He would never get to leave the house ever again if that happened.

Double-checking to make sure his mother's car wasn't in the driveway, Owen quickly walked away from his house, humming the _Mission Impossible_ theme song under his breath for dramatic effect. A bitter wind tore into his clothes as he made his way to Bethany's house, his teeth chattering and his hands shaking from the cold. He buried his good hand into his pocket for warmth, his broken arm dangling helplessly at his side.

Just as his body started to feel slightly frozen, Bethany's house was in sight. He jogged the rest of the way and didn't stop to knock, instead opening the door and heading inside. He blew air from his lungs, still shivering in the much warmer house. He heard voices coming from upstairs, so he walked to the bottom of the stairs, placing his hand on the railing. "Bethany! I'm here!"

"Owen?" Mrs. Sanderson's voice rang out. She appeared at the top of the stairs. "I'm glad to see you could make it! I didn't know you'd be coming."

"Yeah," Owen said, trying to play it cool. "My mom let me go."

"That's great," Bethany's mother exclaimed. She turned her head. "Bethany, Owen is here! We're going to be late if we don't leave soon!" The carpeted steps creaked slightly as Mrs. Sanderson, followed a few seconds later by Bethany, came downstairs. After greeting each other, they hopped in the car and began their fifteen minute ride to the school.

"So nothing bad happened?" Bethany asked, leaning over to whisper in his ear. Both of them were in the backseat of the car, discussing Owen's sneaking-out-fiasco, unbeknownst to Bethany's mother. "Your mom didn't see you leaving?"

"Nope," Owen whispered back, feeling jittery. "She thinks I'm home. She just went to work, so hopefully she won't even notice I'm gone!" He was mostly just trying to assure himself that everything would be fine. He was half-expecting his mother to appear out of nowhere, ready to drag him away from Bethany and back into the confinement of his house.

"She won't," Bethany said. "She'll probably be at work all day, just like she usually is."

"'Probably'?"

"I'm ninety percent sure, Owen," she said, looking at him. "And if she _does_ catch you, it isn't like she can ground you even more."

"Um, yes she can," Owen pressed. "She can prevent me from seeing you and Kiel!"

Her expression changed, and she sat back into her chair, running her hands over her face. "I didn't think of that."

"Yeah, you didn't," he muttered, then shrugged, turning to the window. His voice got louder as he spoke next. "Well, it's too late to turn back now. I'm going to attend this book club if it _kills_ me!"

"I like the enthusiasm! Bethany isn't usually this excited when she goes to the book club, are you Bethany?" Bethany's mother said from the drivers seat, chuckling to herself.

Without having to look, Owen already knew Bethany must've been sending him an alarmed look. If they were alone, she probably would've yelled at him for talking too loud, an action that could've gotten them both into trouble. At least Mrs. Sanderson hadn't heard their whole conversation.

They turned into the high school's parking lot, which was mostly empty aside from a few cars. As they got out of the car, Owen couldn't help gaping at the sight of the school — practically five times bigger than the middle school. He couldn't imagine going here next year. He had missed so much, including his freshman year of high school, which was supposed to be a transition year. Would he ever get used to these changes? There were so many things that were different, and it made him feel a little queasy.

"C'mon," Bethany said, leading him over to front doors at the entrance of the school. He followed right behind, feeling lost. They walked inside, their shoes squeaking loudly against the floor. The halls were eerily silent and impossibly huge as they walked for a few minutes through the empty building. There were trophies in glass cases and paintings on the walls, along with dozens of posters for various clubs. Hundreds of lockers lined the walls, an amount much greater than Owen remembered from middle school. Finally, they made it to the library, which had two double wooden doors.

Bethany opened the door, holding it ajar for him so he could walk through. Only then did he feel some sense of comfort. Although it wasn't _his_ library, anywhere filled with books was enough to make him feel better. He felt more in his element with he was in a library.

Six girls were seated in a circle of beanbag chairs, all talking to each other in loud voices. An elderly woman was sitting on her own beanbag chair, holding a few books in her hand. As him and Bethany approached, they all looked over, most of them appearing a bit surprised. They fell silent, simply staring at Owen.

"This is my friend Owen," Bethany spoke up, after a few awkward seconds passed. "It's okay if he's here today, right?"

Owen's eyes shifted to the old woman, who nodded, smiling at him kindly. "Yes, please join us! It's nice to have a new addition to the group."

"O-Okay," Owen said, nearly tripping over his own feet as he sank into the nearest chair. Bethany sat next to him, offering him a smile. Hesitantly, he smiled back, still feeling nervous among the group. He hadn't expected the group to be only girls, and he didn't recognize any of them, which made him more nervous.

"Your name is Owen? Owen Conners?" a girl asked, tilting her head. He nodded. "Aren't you that boy who ran away?"

"Um, uh . . ." he began, not really sure how to respond. His face heated up as he tried thinking of what to say, everyone's eyes on him. Luckily, Bethany came to his rescue. She gave the girl a look. "Those are just rumors. You shouldn't listen to everything you hear. He didn't run away. He only went to a new school."

"Okay, geez," the girl muttered, sitting back in her chair. Owen gave Bethany a grateful look, and she winked at him.

A blonde girl, who was sitting on the other side of him, smiled. "I'm Bethany's friend. My name is Liz."

"Liz?" Owen said. He vaguely remembered Bethany mentioning a girl named Liz who her nonfictional self had been friends with. He didn't know anything about her, only that she liked books. "Oh!" he said, putting a face to Bethany's description. "I-I'm Owen. So you like books? Do you like Harry Potter?"

She nodded. "Yeah! Who doesn't?"

He grinned at that. Before he could respond, a voice drew his attention back to the group. The old woman in the center stood up, walking in slow movements around the circle. "Now that we've finished reading our book from last week, _The Giver_ , we're going to start reading a classic. This one came out in 1937. It's a story about a great adventure that you might be familiar with. Can anyone tell me what book it is?"

Owen looked around the room, awaiting an answer. None of the others seemed to have any recollection as to what book it was. He looked to Bethany, who was staring at the ground. He raised his hand, feeling a bit proud that he was the only one who knew the answer. " _The Hobbit_!"

The old woman laughed a little. "Very good! And do you know who wrote it?"

Once again, he looked at the rest of the group. None of them seemed to know what the answer was, so he said, "J.R.R Tolkien."

"Good," she said, picking up a copy of _The Hobbit_ from her chair and showing it to the group. "This book shouldn't be a long read. It's only three-hundred and ten pages —"

" _Only_?" a brown-haired girl whispered, shaking her head.

"So it should only take you a week or two if you read consistently." She paused, surveying them. "Does anyone know what this story is about?"

Owen raised his hand again, unable to stop smiling. "Well, it's about a hobbit —" He cut himself off to look at the others. "A hobbit is a really small species similar to humans — and his name is Bilbo Baggins. A wizard named Gandalf and a bunch of dwarves invite him on this huge adventure. There's a lot that happens, but Bilbo finds that magic ring from _Lord Of The Rings_. You know, the 'one ring to rule them all'?" He glanced around at the group, who all were looking at him with slight fascination and confusion.

"Thank you, Owen," the old woman said kindly. "You didn't need to explain the whole story, but I'm sure it was helpful for these girls, who have never read it before."

Owen nodded, his face burning a little as he turned to Bethany. "You've read _The Hobbit_ , right? I thought you did."

"Not exactly," she said, and he knew she was referring to her jumping into it. A new idea popped into his head: after their relaxing break from the fictional world, what if Bethany jumped him into _The Hobbit_?Or better yet, the _Lord Of The Rings_?Technically, they were in the same world, so he assumed he'd only have to jump into one. As long as he avoided the danger, that would be _really_ cool.

"Stop smiling like that," she whispered, leaning towards him. "You're creeping people out."

Undeterred, Owen said, "I can't! I'm happy! Plus, I don't no one looks creeped out to me. I think you're making things up."

"No, I'm not. But okay, _fine_. Ignore me. But if you keep looking like a crazy person, I'm not going to bring you to the next one."

He deflated a little. "Really?"

"No, not really," she said, snorting. "Honestly, I'd rather have you here for these things. I'm not friends with any of these girls, aside from Liz. You're my best friend. You should be here from now on."

He blushed at that, a genuine smile blossoming on his face. "Thanks."

The rest of the book club meeting seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. They had a long discussion about _The Hobbit_ that later turned into which mythological creature they'd be, which Owen was enthralled with. He loved talking about books in general, and the club was the perfect opportunity to do it. Even in middle school, he never met many people who wanted to talk about books. The people in this book club obviously weren't huge book-lovers like him and Bethany, but at least they were willing to talk about it, which was enough for him. He could only hope that he'd be able to attend more of these in the future.

* * *

 _"_ _Take me to a different place where love is not illusion based, and fear is just a word they can define . . ."_


	18. Change

**_La Lune (by Madeon)_**

 _"So we stay awake like we always do, and we try to recreate. And though nothing's changed and I'm next to you, it doesn't feel the same . . ."_

* * *

Bethany sat in front of the computer in the library, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor as she grasped for the right words to fill her paper with. For English class, she was assigned to write a three-page paper about the theme of change, and how it was shown throughout the characters and places in the story. She'd already written one page, but two was the amount she'd been asked to write.

In an attempt to clarify the theme of change, she looked up the definition on the internet. _To make or become different,_ it said. She knew all about changes, and differences, and alterations. Her whole life had been changed drastically at one point, then stayed the same for a while before changing again. It was a never-ending theme in her life.

Change was an unspoken thing, Bethany could tell. She'd felt it when she had rejoined herself, and at that time, she had felt like a stranger in her own body. She felt it when her father was taken from her for nearly a decade, only for her to find him again. She felt it when she finally reunited with her best friend. Change was a reflection of her entire life, including her friends' lives. She saw it in herself, when she didn't feel a pang of sadness anymore when she thought of her father. She saw it in Kiel, who had grown so much, yet now he seemed to be worn out lately. She saw it in Owen, her greatest friend, who had suffered the most.

Long after Bethany and Owen parted ways from the book club meeting, Bethany had returned home and spent the entire day working on the homework she'd missed. After the past three crazy days, it was no surprise that she hadn't found the time to do homework. It had been an exhausting few days; she had rejoined herself and saved Owen all in that time. It was astonishing to remember that only a day before she rejoined herself, her nonfictional half hadn't talked to Kiel for a month. Things could really change within the blink of an eye.

She hadn't talked to Kiel or Owen for the rest of the day, instead taking time to herself to be alone and get all of her homework done. She thought about calling Owen once or twice, just to see how he was doing, but she went against it. He didn't have a phone yet, so it was too risky. She wasn't even sure if his mother had caught him or not. She hoped he hadn't gotten into trouble, but seeing the excited look on his face was worth it. After what he'd gone through in _Pick The Plot_ , he deserved to be happy.

Currently, however, all thoughts about Owen slipped her mind. She'd already finished her paper, and she had returned home after an afternoon spent at the library. Now, It was thirty minutes past midnight, and Bethany was restless.

Sometimes, it felt as though her two halves couldn't agree. Part of her felt comfortable here, in the nonfictional world. But the other part, the more demanding side of her, wanted nothing more than to jump into a book. She was considering it, but she didn't want to get into any unnecessary danger right now. Even still, she wanted to jump into _Goodnight Moon_ to spend the night among the stars,or better yet, she could jump into _EarthGirl_ to see Gwen.

Giving up with the struggle to fall asleep, Bethany threw the covers off of her and walked out of the room, pacing back and forth down the hallway. Then, an idea occurred to her, and she poked her head into her mother's room. She peered through the darkness. From here, she could barely make out the frame of the bed, along with the desk and closet which were closest to the door. Moonlight cast a faint glow on the floor next to the window, not giving light to much else.

Using her skills from her days as Twilight Girl, Bethany soundlessly crept into the room, keeping her hands outstretched to avoid bumping into anything. She made it to her bedside table and carefully slid her hand across it, feeling around. Her hand came in contact with various objects, but they weren't what Bethany was hoping for. Dissatisfied, she backed away and turned her head to the dresser, where her mother kept some of her private things hidden away.

Private things, like the photo album Bethany had recently discovered a few months ago, which had pictures of her family — her _whole_ family — together. It was strange that her mother would keep that hidden away, but then again, she didn't want to encourage Bethany to look for her father. Her mother was always uncomfortable about the idea of Bethany jumping into books, although she believed that Bethany hadn't jumped into one since she was little. If her mother wanted to hide anything from Bethany, it would be the Doc Twilight comic book. It had to be in her room. If it wasn't, where else would it be?

She kneeled down in front of the dresser and curled her hand around the knob of the drawer, opening it as slowly as she could. She cringed at the way it creaked, but luckily, her mother didn't wake up. After opening it the rest of the way, she dove her hands in and took out the first book. She hurried over to the window and held it up against the light. She could hardly see, but the huge, grainy words at the top of the book were hard to miss: _Doc Twilight_.

Bethany grinned. She found it!

Just for good measure, she tucked the book underneath her shirt and walked back to the drawer, quickly sliding it shut. As it made contact with the dresser, it made a louder noise than Bethany had anticipated. She slapped a hand over her mouth, then shot up from the floor and started towards her room, not wanting to spend another second sneaking around. Before she could make it, however, a voice said her name. "Beth?"

Bethany froze, her heart nearly stopping right then and there. Feeling dread, she turned around. Her mother was awake and was slowly starting to sit up in bed, rubbing her eyes. "What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night."

"I'm — I was just walking around." Seriously? _That_ was what she had to say? She bit her tongue hard to prevent herself from saying anything else. That was the worst excuse she'd ever come up with. It was easier to lie about jumping into books, but how could she make up an easy lie about this?

Bethany's mother yawned. "You were walking around . . . in my room? If you want to walk around, you should do it outside, Beth."

"I-I know. I'll do that."

"Are you okay?" her mother inquired. "Can you not sleep?"

"No, I can. I just felt like walking around." Ugh. _That_ was the excuse she had to keep going with?

"Okay. Go to bed. It's almost 1:00, and you need to go to sleep!"

Bethany nodded, crossing her arms over her chest to hold her book into place. "I know. I'll go to sleep right now." That was another lie, but she had to keep doing it. If she told her mother the truth, she'd tell her something along the lines of "I was sneaking around your room because I was looking for Dad's book! And now that I have it, I'm going to read the entire thing. I probably won't go to sleep until 3:00 am."

"Yeah, go do that," Bethany's mother said, resting her head back against the pillow. "Good night."

Without bothering to reply, Bethany stepped out of the room and let out the breath she'd been holding, resting her back against the wall as disbelief coursed through her. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, daring to jump right out and fall to the floor. Since when had talking to her mother become so stressful? The more she hid things, the more it felt like a boulder was pressing itself against her shoulders. Kiel was right: she couldn't keep doing this. But she had to, and she would continue to do so until she got Dad back.

On top of that, there was also Nobody to deal with. The thought of the faceless man made her want to punch something, over and over again. It also made her more nervous than anything, and maybe even afraid. Soon, she would have to face him, and she would have to defeat him somehow. The knowledge of that was terrifying. He had already split her in half once. Would he do it again? He would, most likely. He was ruthless, and he would do anything to take over the fictional world.

It wasn't only her that Nobody had to power to hurt, though. He'd hurt Kiel, he'd hurt Gwen, and he'd hurt all of her fictional friends with his pure possibility, whatever that meant. And then he'd make Owen, her best friend, suffer more than he already had been. Bethany couldn't even think about that without a fit of nerves consuming her. Her friends could _not_ get hurt because of her, and they certainly weren't in the best shape right now to fight Nobody. It just wasn't the right time. They couldn't just leave and run off on an adventure without some type of backup and a plan. There were consequences to their actions, now, and Bethany could see that.

For a week or two, or maybe even longer, they'd have time to relax. But how long could they relax before things went bad again? How could Bethany relax when she was thinking about this all the time? It made her head hurt. She only wanted her friends to be safe, but she knew they never would be. Because of her, they hadn't been. Wasn't all of this Nobody stuff _her_ fault? Jumping into books had never exactly benefited anyone. Bethany had tried using strict rules to keep herself safe, but that route had obviously failed.

Okay, maybe it wasn't _all_ her fault, but a part of it definitely was. Majority of it was, actually. If she hadn't been jumping into books all the time, this wouldn't have even happened. Nobody wouldn't have been able to split her in half, and the worlds wouldn't be split. Owen wouldn't have been in danger. She also wouldn't have met Kiel, but the only reason she met him was because the Magister had escaped from his book. That part was mainly Owen's fault, but it was still _technically_ her fault for continuously jumping into books. But then again, it was the only thing she could do to find her father. And she _did_ find him, but he wasn't where she expected him to be.

One thing she knew, though, was that she needed to stop overthinking all the time. It would be helpful at least for now, while she and her friends were taking it easy. The past three days had been really nice so far, and spending time with Owen and Kiel made her almost forget about her own problems. Now wasn't the time to think about the inevitable.

Forget her overbearing worry, forget this Nobody problem, forget everything else. In the end, it didn't matter. None of it did. Not if she brought her father home.

Slowly pulling her book out of her shirt, Bethany walked back to her bedroom and tossed her father's book on the bed. She tugged on fuzzy blue socks over her bare feet, along with a pair of pajamas. She sat on her bed and flicked on her bedroom light, then placed _Doc Twilight_ in her lap. Seeing it now, she fully recognized the costume her father wore. He was standing with his hands on his hips, a mask covering his eyes as his long purple cape blew in the wind behind him.

She wondered if he truly was happier in Jupiter City. That place was his life, after all. He'd always been a superhero. Living with him for those three years felt like paradise, and now that she had her memories back she realized just how great it was. Sure, she hadn't remembered Owen or her mother or the nonfictional world, but she had some really awesome powers, and she got to spend time with her father. She wasn't worried about Nobody, so all she did was fight crime, which was both fun and rewarding. Not only that, but she was training to be a real-life superhero, right alongside Kid Twilight (his real name was Orion, but Bethany liked to be professional when she was fighting).

As far as the fictional Bethany knew, she had been living with her father for her entire life, and Orion hadn't come into the picture until she was twelve. He irritated her to no end, but she grew close to him, close enough to consider him as an adopted brother. Her, Orion, and her father had been a family. But those were fake memories, not real ones. She had to find out what had actually happened over those years that her father had been missing. There were things that her parents hadn't told her, things she deserved to know.

It was time to learn her own secret origin.

* * *

Owen had come home to an empty house. He had only been gone for about an hour and a half, but he'd been dreading the moment he came home ever since he left. He had an incredibly nice time at the book club meeting, but getting caught by his mother would quickly take that feeling away. Apparently his mother had been at work, because there hadn't been a car in the driveway, nor were there angry shouts when he walked inside his house. Upon finding that the house was empty (aside from Spike), he'd been so relieved that his robotic heart had nearly stopped beating. Everything had worked out!

It was Sunday morning, and his mother had left for work a few hours ago. She did longer shifts now, sometimes in the mornings and sometimes during the night. After eating breakfast, Owen ran upstairs to his room, taking two stairs at a time. So far, his mother hadn't mentioned anything about him sneaking out, which was an enormous relief. Owen didn't even know how he'd handle it if she confronted him about that.

Just to give himself something to do, he began jumping up and down on his bed until his arm started throbbing, and he had to get off. He fell the rest of the way to his bed and sat on it, glaring down at his broken arm. So far, his arm was hurting twenty-four-seven, refusing to give him any breaks. He'd been taking medication to reduce the swelling and pain, as the doctor had ordered. The swelling had gone down considerably, Owen could tell, but the pain stayed glued to his arm. There wasn't much he could do to distract himself from it. He wasn't sure when the pain would end, or when he'd be able to use his arm regularly again.

He sighed and pushed himself off the bed, then wandered aimlessly around his bedroom. He ran his hand along the destroyed books that were propped on shelves, his chest hurting a little at the familiarity of it. The entire Kiel Gnomenfoot series was still stacked in a pile on his desk, something that his mother didn't approve of and had ordered him to store in his closet before he and Bethany had left to save Doc Twilight. Being here in his room made it almost feel nothing had changed, even though everything had.

He was stuck at home, unable to leave. He felt like a prisoner in his own house; he couldn't leave unless his mother told him was uncomfortably similar to being trapped in the time prison. In both places, he couldn't escape. Not that his mother's punishment was similar in any way to the horrors he went through in the time prison. At least he wasn't being hunted by dinosaurs here.

But since he was alone, he wasn't really enjoying himself, either. There was always the option of sneaking out, but once was enough for now. He didn't want to risk things again unless he knew he wouldn't get caught.

It'd been four days since he was rescued, and he still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he'd missed three entire years of his life. No wonder his mother was acting crazy! Three years was an awfully long time. All that time he'd spent in _Pick The Plot_ . . . he'd missed three birthdays. Three! Not only that, but he'd missed practically a lifetime supply of presents, both from birthdays _and_ Christmas. Stupid Nobody. Why did he have to ruin everything?

After amusing himself by spinning around in his desk chair for far longer than was probably necessary, he got to his feet. He was still a bit dizzy as he walked back downstairs and into the kitchen. What he saw made him do a double-take. Sitting on the kitchen table was a stack of large hardcover textbooks. Tentatively, he approached the pile and looked at the first book at the top, which was labeled _Algebra I and II_.

Uh oh. Owen's eyes darted to a yellow sticky note that was taped to the book, which was in his mother's handwriting.

 _Owen_ , the note said. _I talked to Bethany's school and these are the books they suggested. They all cover what you would've learned if you were here from seventh to tenth grade. Start studying these! We can go to the dog adoption center when I get home._

Right, the dog adoption center! In his excitement at not getting caught, he'd nearly forgotten about that. Since his mother had come home late last night, she had postponed their trip to the adoption center, claiming that she was too tired to go. After Owen complained about it several times, she finally gave in, saying they'd go on Sunday. He couldn't wait to get a dog, which was something he'd patiently awaited since his sixth birthday. He loved Spike, but he'd never really been a cat person.

He returned his attention to the schoolbooks that loomed before him on the table, hoping and praying that this was all a dream. He already knew he was going to be homeschooled, but he didn't know the books would be so . . . _big_! The math book on it's own was wider than Spike! Owen mumbled a few choice insults about school under his breath, then pushed the math book aside, letting it fall soundly off the pile.

Underneath it was a U.S history book, which Owen figured would be much simpler compared to math. It took a lot of effort to pick the book up with only one hand, but he managed to get a good grip underneath it before lifting it up. He tucked the book underneath his armpit and walked over to the living room, then sat down on the couch to begin studying. Knowing his mother, she'd probably be able to tell if he didn't do his schoolwork. No matter how swamped she was from work, she'd notice if he hadn't studied the books, and she'd make him do it anyway.

Most of what he saw in the history book were things he already knew, but there were also plenty of things that he'd never learned before. History was so complicated and long! He'd never been very interested in it, so the process of reading every single event in the American revolution took a lot longer than he would've liked. After a while, he assumed he would get used to this routine of studying, but for now, it was plenty less exciting when there was no one to teach the material to him.

Reading schoolbooks was boring, but in reality, Owen was glad that he didn't have to go back to school yet. He was still in a bit of a culture shock, and it felt weird to be back here after so long. Despite the part about being homeschooled and grounded, he had definitely missed being home. He was momentarily safe from all danger, and he got to hang out with his friends if his mother allowed it. But that didn't mean he was completely satisfied and happy with his life.

Although he kept it to himself, there was a certain feeling that hung in the air when he was with others, a feeling that he couldn't quite identify. He didn't like it at all, but he knew what it meant and how to describe it. Every time he was with his friends or family, he felt pressured to make up for so much lost time. He assumed that he'd never be able to make up for _all_ of it, but it didn't hurt to try.

He wondered how much things had changed. Sometimes it seemed like everything had changed, while other times it felt like no time had passed at all. One thing was clear: it didn't feel the same, because it _wasn't_ , and it never would be the way it used to.

Several hours later, the sound of the doorbell ringing startled Owen from his reading, and he instinctively flinched. He'd been so focused on the history book that he hadn't moved from his spot on the couch since he'd first sat down, which was unusual for him. The doorbell ringed several times again, which made him come to his senses. He pushed the heavy textbook off his lap, then jumped up and walked to the door, stretching his tired legs as he went. He slowly swung the door open without bothering to check who it was. "Okay, you don't need to ring —"

Before he could finish his sentence, a hand yanked the door the rest of the way open, and Bethany was standing there. "Owen!" she said, urgently grabbing his arm. "Your mom isn't home, is she?"

"What?" Bewildered, Owen stuck his head outside and peered out into the driveway, which was still empty. "No, she isn't. Is something wrong?"

Without giving him an answer, she pushed past him in the doorway, shrugging off her bright red coat and throwing it on the floor. "Look at this!"

"Look at wha—" he started to say, but she tossed something at him, and he barely had the time to catch it. Judging from the material, it was unmistakably a comic book. Frowning, he turned it over in his hands to see the cover. It was a . . . Doc Twilight book? He'd already seen this before. Why was Bethany giving it to him?

"I don't see anything," Owen said, shaking his head. He looked up to see her untying the laces on her snow boots before pulling them off. "We already know it's your dad's comic book."

"That's not what I'm showing you," she said, her voice laced with irritation. She placed her boots next to the door, then motioned for him to follow. He struggled to keep up as she raced up the stairs and into his room.

"Seriously, Bethany," Owen said, _Doc Twilight_ in his hand as he entered his room, only to find her searching his desk drawers. "Hey! What are you _doing_? There are private things in there!"

"Looking for a marker," she said distractedly, then muttered a "Ah-ha" as she pulled a marker out of the cluttered mess in his drawer. She turned back to him and took the comic book from him, then sat on the floor and started flipping through the pages. "I was reading this last night for the first time, just to see if I could find out anything about Dad. Or me."

Owen sat down next to her, watching her with interest. "Oh yeah! Actually, I forgot to tell you about that. Unless you already know, but I found out some stuff about your dad and mom, like how they met. You probably don't wanna read that part. It's kinda gross and sappy. Your dad was like, completely flirting with her. Not something I'd want to see again. And then I found out some other things, too. Like about Nobody, who, get this: came from a comic book world! Can you believe that? It almost makes sense, because he's the classic trickster character! I also learned about his creator, this guy named —"

"Mason Black," Bethany finished, meeting his eyes with a surprised look. "That's what I was going to show you! How did you _know_ all of that?"

"When I was in Jupiter City, remember how I vanished after Charm gave me my time powers?" he asked. She nodded. "That's when I appeared in this boring white room — Nobody's prison. There was this huge comic book there, and that's how I was able to talk to you through your thoughts. I could see everything that was happening as if it were a real comic book, which it is. So I flipped to the back and read Doc Twilight's backstory, and that's how I found out all that stuff about Nobody and the creators of the comics."

"I can't believe Nobody is from my dad's world," Bethany said, her hand clenched tightly around the marker. "That's how they knew each other! Nobody was some stupid — some stupid _henchman_! I fought dozens of them when I was in Jupiter City! He was a villain right from the start. Nobody obviously had something against my dad, so he turned him into the Dark. And then he went as far to take my dad's _memories_. My dad didn't remember me and my mom, all because of Nobody. I don't even know what Nobody had against my dad." She took a deep breath, trying to let some of her anger out. "But it isn't just that. I found something else."

"What?" Owen asked, not really wanting to know the answer. She uncapped the marker and circled something, then handed it to him. It took him a few seconds to realize what it said, and when he did, he gasped.

The panel she had circled showed none other than Mrs. Sanderson, her arms crossed over her chest as she looked at Doc Twilight, Bethany's father. They were in Doc Twilight's study, where he worked as an astrologist. "The fictional world, it's too much. After Bethany's fourth birthday, that's it. She's in too much danger when she's in the fictional world. She can't grow up like this, as a superhero! That isn't the right way to raise a child!"

"Why can't she grow up here?" Bethany's father asked, frowning. "Honey, we can't deprive her of her powers. She loves it here."

"No, we can't," Bethany's mother said, shaking her head. "But you need to stop taking her to Jupiter City. I won't allow it. She's too young for this."

"I grew up there," Bethany's father protested. "So can she. We should let her decide what she wants to do. We don't even know if what Mason Black said was true. If this is about what he said —"

"No, this isn't about what he said. You aren't taking this seriously, Christian. We can't allow her to grow up in Jupiter City. Remember what Mason warned us about? If we take Bethany back to Jupiter City — or anywhere in the fictional world, for that matter — she's going to be in grave danger. If she keeps jumping into books like this, Mason said, 'An evil will rise, and there's a chance it could kill her.' I don't want to know what that means, but I _won't_ allow her to get hurt. I don't want her jumping into books anymore. You shouldn't either." She turned around and left the study, leaving Mr. Sanderson to stare after her with a pained expression.

* * *

Kiel woke up late that morning, feeling glad that he was slightly less tired then before. Ever since this new problem occurred, he'd been going to bed much earlier than he normally would. That hadn't given him much of a solution, so he dove into his spell book for answers. There were millions of spells that were useful, and there were a select few that would give him specifically what he needed. But unfortunately, using magic only made him more tired than he already was.

So instead, he turned to a nonfictional solution. Those weren't always his preferred way to solve things, but if it helped, that was what mattered.

Since he discovered this drink brand called 5-Hour Energy, he'd been drinking that every day. He happened upon it by chance yesterday morning when he was wandering around town with the small amount of money he'd borrowed from Bethany.

He had found it in a store called CVS . . . he had no idea what the C, V, and S stood for, but he hadn't questioned that part too much. Seeing nonfictional logos that didn't make sense weren't unusual. What mattered is that this 5-Hour Energy drink claimed to give him a large amount of energy every time he drank it! Given his situation, what could be better? The caption on the bottle said it would give him exactly what he needed, and it did.

It boosted his energy unlike any spell he'd tried, and although there was still that underlying fatigue he sometimes felt, it was considerably less. Despite the exhaustion that had overcome him yesterday in the middle of the day, it seemed to be working. He wasn't tired anymore, except for the time after those five hours. There was still the threat of him disappearing, but at least he had it under control. It seemed he wouldn't have to worry Owen or Bethany after all, which was a relief considering everything that had been going on lately.

"Two cups," Kiel muttered to himself, wrinkling his nose as he poured himself a cup of the energy drink. It didn't taste very good, so he tended to hold his nose during the process of drinking it. So far, two cups of 5-Hour-Energy had done the trick of giving him the energy he needed. This way, he could focus less on himself and more on what mattered: the fictional world and his friends.

After he was done, he put the bottle back into the fridge and walked across the hallway to his small bedroom, shaking slightly as the drink started to seep into his veins. During the five hours he felt energetic, he'd feel this same strange, jittery feeling. It was a bit uncomfortable, but he was good at hiding it. It definitely was better than being exhausted all the time. He almost felt back to his normal, energetic self. Almost.

He wasn't sure if he could keep this up forever, but he would try. Drinking this stuff wasn't going to kill him, was it? As long as it kept giving him the energy he needed, he was sure there'd be nothing to worry about . . . besides him possibly disappearing along with the rest of his possessions. That day wasn't today however, so for now he had at least one part of his problem — his fatigue — fixed. He really hoped that the time wouldn't come where he felt worse or even started to disappear. The very idea of himself disappearing, only to leave his friends behind, left a hole in his stomach that was hard to ignore.

The last resort, the _very_ last, would be to tell his friends or ask them for help. That obviously wasn't an option, because the last thing he wanted to do was make them worry. This was a weakness that he didn't want to show. And if he started feeling much better, then there'd be no point in telling them. He would keep this as a secret for as long as he could, and hopefully things wouldn't get worse. He only wanted things to get better, especially for the sake of his friends.

If it weren't for his jitteriness, the morning would've felt calm and peaceful. Sunlight crept in through the windows of his house, brightening the rooms and giving Kiel a more cheery vibe. One thing he hadn't seen much of during the cold winter was the sun, and even though Magisteria's sun was different it still gave him some comfort to see it. The day was also slightly warmer than usual, and it hadn't snowed in nearly two weeks, which was a good sign for Kiel. He preferred the warmer, more comfortable weather over the frigid three months of cold that he'd gotten used to.

Kiel pulled on the gray, wool coat that he'd owned since he came here several months ago, along with his favorite pair of black boots for the sake of normalcy. He was extremely tempted to throw on his cape, no matter what anyone said. It was his favorite accessory, and he hadn't been able to wear it for three months. He felt incomplete without it. Every time he looked in a mirror now, he was reminded less of himself and more of a stranger. The only thing that he was able to keep the same to avoid unwanted attention was his undeniably charming looks, along with his black clothing.

He went outside, leaving his spell book and wand-knives behind since there wasn't a serious threat looming over his head. The roads were crowded for the most part at this time of day, filled with cars that were stuck in a standstill. Sometimes, Kiel didn't understand the purpose of cars. Spaceships were so much easier to get around, and even easier than that was teleportation.

The nonfictional world was surprisingly un-advanced compared to his hometown. If these authors wrote books about these places, why were they writing about something they didn't have? Magisteria had it's magic, which proved very useful to Kiel, and Quanterium had their advanced science and their endless buildings devoted to research and experiments. The nonfictional world was without magic or highly technical science weapons, and yet they seemed to be getting by fine.

Still, wouldn't a spaceship make it easier to get around? If Charm were here, she'd think so wholeheartedly. That was another thing that made the nonfictional world tough to live in, even if he _had_ been slowly getting used to it. He was with his best friends, yes, but he hadn't seen Charm — his companion in the quests for the keys — in years.

Kiel wondered how she was, and if she was trying to stop Nobody or the pure possibility wave. Or maybe she was in Quanterium, still serving as their president. Both were likely. She had never been very nice to him, but he _did_ consider her his friend, even though she didn't seem to feel the same way.

Deep down, he knew she probably had mostly good feelings about him, but she chose to hide it underneath a facade of meanness. It was hard to tell with her. Kiel wasn't the best at reading people. The only person that was easy for him to read was Owen, because that boy showed his emotions clearly. Owen expressed himself through his words and many facial expressions, so it was easy to tell what he was feeling.

After walking down the sidewalk along the road for some time, Kiel made it to the library, which was his usual spot to hang out with Bethany. Unfortunately, it seemed that Owen was still grounded, because he was nowhere to be seen in the building. As always, Ms. Conners was there, and she barely acknowledged Kiel since she was running around with too much to do.

Even with Owen being home, Owen's mother still seemed stressed. Kiel could tell that a weight had lifted from her shoulders, but he knew firsthand that it was hard to come back from something like that. After three years of her son being missing, he had returned merely four days ago. She probably needed some adjusting to that, just like he'd needed adjusting to living in the nonfictional world instead of Magisteria.

Kiel partly understood why she wanted to keep Owen safe by keeping him at home, but he wished she'd let Owen go out. He hadn't seen him since Friday night, when him and Bethany had stayed at his house to watch movies. Even then, Ms. Conners had seemed a bit distrusting of them. But Kiel didn't understand that. She'd known him and Bethany forever; why would she be distrusting at all towards them? It just didn't make sense.

Kiel didn't know why she wouldn't allow her son to at least visit the library. Owen loved books, and he loved his mother's library. That was all he ever talked about. Why shouldn't he be able to go there? The library was the least dangerous place Owen spent time at, unless what lay within the books were taken into consideration. Not that books were very dangerous. Most of them were, but Kiel _loved_ danger, so that was never much of a concern for him. But simply sitting around in the library, rather than jumping into books? That was the safest thing Kiel could think of.

Truthfully, he wished they'd start jumping into books again, but that was the last thing Bethany and Owen felt like doing right now. Even if they didn't want to, they needed to get going with this fight against Nobody, since the fictional world was in more danger with every passing second. It made Kiel's skin crawl at the thought of it, but his friends wanted a short, relaxing break before their quest to save the fictional world. He didn't blame them; he needed a break just as much as they did. The past few months had been trying, both mentally and physically.

But no matter how much he needed this break, he knew that this couldn't wait if things got worse. If they got worse, that was that. Their peace would be broken, and they'd have to face the real world with all its problems and duties. The fictional world was already in major trouble with Nobody's pure possibility spreading everywhere. Kiel had heard stories about it, but never had he seen it happening in person.

If it were up to him, he'd go to the fictional world right away, but he wasn't completely sure if he was ready for a fight. He hated to admit it, but he was currently fighting his own grueling battles. If he didn't win this one, there was the chance that he'd disappear forever. Then again, he probably wouldn't. He was supposed to die in _Kiel Gnomenfoot and the Source of Magic_ after his quest for the seventh key,but now? No way.

He knew he could handle this, but there was a small voice at the back of his head, which told him the hard truth: there was a possibility that he could disappear forever, and he wouldn't be able to stop it. He really, _really_ hoped that wouldn't happen. He liked enjoying life, not fearing it. What was the point if he wasn't having fun? Given this situation, however, it was hard to look at the bright side. It was easier to ignore the problem, to push it away and tell himself that he would be okay.

He knew it had something to do with him being fictional, but the situation confused him altogether. It frightened him, but it made him even more determined to stop it from progressing further. Giving into fear wasn't an option. If there was a way to fix it — which there would be — he'd find it. He was a hero, and he'd faced multiple near-death experiences. He was Kiel Gnomenfoot, hero and savior to all of Magisteria. He'd fought villains and won, lost his magic and gained it back, and created the most powerful spell ever made. There wasn't a single thing he couldn't do.

He was already finding temporary solutions for his continuous exhaustion, so if that worked, then something else could too! It was only a matter of time before he put a stop to this, so Bethany and Owen would never know, and they'd never have to worry. It would be a win-win situation.

Kiel didn't like to show his weaknesses to anyone besides himself, so as long as he could hide it behind a wink and a grin, he was sure that everything would be okay. There wasn't a single thing he couldn't handle. So long as he embraced the impossible, everything _would_ work out. It always did for him, from his dangerous quests for the lost keys to almost dying because of Dr. Verity. He'd survived everything life threw at him, so he could survive this, too.

Plus, having his friends with him elevated his happiness, so it should be easy to hide his worries underneath a mask of confidence. He'd done it before and he could do it again. He wouldn't even have to fake his joy, because being around his friends gave him more of that feeling. He felt bad about lying to them, but there wasn't another way to do it. Listening to his problems was the last thing they'd want.

If he did end up telling them someday, how would they react? Badly, obviously. He already knew that Bethany would get mad if he told her what was happening, since that was her reaction to most things that stressed her out. Both of his friends would be saddened by the news. Especially Owen, who thought of Kiel as a hero. How could Kiel tell him he was in danger of dying, and was already beginning to feel the side effects? He couldn't do that to Owen. It would crush him.

Kiel rubbed his slightly bloodshot eyes before shuffling over to the children's section, where Bethany normally was after school and on weekends. Today, she was nowhere to be seen. That made sense. It was still the morning, and she wasn't always here when it was this early. If she wasn't here now, she'd probably come later.

He walked over to the one of the isles and looked through the books that lined the shelves, searching for his own series. At the end of the isle, he saw the Kiel Gnomenfoot books, all seven of them in a row. He ran his hand along them, staring at the cursive font as a feeling of longing entered him. It was at times like this that he missed being home. He loved adventures and exploring new worlds as much as the next person, but he still missed his former world.

At that moment, Owen's mother came around the corner, carrying a tall pile of books. "Hello Kiel!" she said, sounding surprised. She took two books out of the pile and slid them onto different spots on the shelf. "Are you looking for a book?"

Kiel shrugged, dropping his hand. "Not exactly. I just like looking around at all the books."

"So does Owen," Ms. Conners said, smiling a little. "Oh, speaking of Owen, we're going to the dog adoption center tonight. You can come if you want."

"That'd be great!" he exclaimed, although he was a bit unsure what to expect at this dog place. Ever since he'd been introduced to dogs when he was twelve, they'd quickly become his favorite animals. There weren't many animals back on Magisteria, and none of them were like dogs. "What time would that be?"

"Once I get off from my shift at work," she said. "So around 7:00 tonight."

"Okay! I'll definitely go. Do you know if Bethany is going?"

Ms. Conners shook her head. "I'm not sure if she is. I haven't seen her yet. If you see her, you should tell her. Owen doesn't have a phone yet, so until I'm able to give him one he can't contact his friends."

He nodded, smiling. "I will. Thanks for inviting me."

As she walked past him to the other side of the children's section, he wondered again why she hadn't allowed Owen to have some freedom. He still didn't quite understand the concept of "grounding". From what he'd heard, he thought it meant Owen wasn't allowed to leave the house. However, they were going to this dog adoption center tonight, so maybe things were looking up for his friend?

Kiel hoped so, and he really hoped Bethany would be there too. Life was always filled with fun when the three of them were together, and if they were going to a place that included tons of dogs, which were his favorite animal? Even better.

* * *

Huh? Owen blinked, his mind utterly blank. Bethany's mother had said that, and this was _before_ her father went missing? Had he read that right?

He looked at Bethany, who was staring at him expectantly. When he said nothing, she huffed and grabbed the book back from him, looking much angrier than she had a moment ago. "This proves everything, Owen. I can't believe her. I always thought she had some weird hatred for books after my dad left, but she _never_ liked the fictional world even _before_ he left! Family is meant to support you for your abilities, not tear them down! She was going to stop me from jumping into books either way, without letting me having a say in what I'd want to do! Did she ever think about asking her own daughter?"

"I think she only said that because of Mason," Owen said carefully, finally grappling his thoughts. "From what I read when I was stuck in that comic book world, Nobody said something about taking responsibility for your power. I'm sure Mason knew something about that before he got captured by Nobody, so he warned your mom. She must've had a good reason for wanting to keep you safe. I don't think she'd try to keep you from the fictional world unless it was dangerous."

"Yeah, she might've had a reason for saying that, but I still can't believe her. There's no evidence that Mason even convinced her of that. She was always against me jumping into books, even before my dad got taken away from me. Jumping into books is my _life_! And she always wanted to take that away from me, even when my dad didn't?" Her voice raised as she got angrier. "My dad knew what was best for me. He wanted me to keep going into fictional worlds, and he wanted me to grow up in Jupiter City. _He_ knew what was best for me, he always did. My mom kept me from it, and she kept me from finding my dad." She let out a frustrated sigh. "There's no way I'm telling her anything now. She just doesn't understand me."

As she ranted, Owen stared at the ground, nodding every so often as she let all of her anger out. He didn't want to say anything that might make her even angrier, so he kept quiet. He never understood why Bethany's mother didn't want Bethany jumping into books, since her father was fictional himself.

It just seemed that Mrs. Sanderson didn't trust the fictional world, which didn't make sense at all. Jumping into books was awesome! It was the reason Owen had become friends with Bethany in the first place. Okay, yes, he'd used her so he could save the Magister from Dr. Verity. But all that was behind them now. Him and Bethany were best friends, and they always would be.

Books were dangerous, he'd learned that especially from his time spent in _Pick The Plot_. But that didn't mean they weren't worth loving. There were so many things to love about them, like the magic and the adventures and getting to meet all your favorite characters. He could never imagine why Bethany's mother hated them the way she did. Maybe she was just afraid of losing her daughter in the same way she'd lost her husband, or maybe she simply preferred the safety of the real world.

"Wait." Bethany frowned, capturing Owen's attention again. "He got captured by Nobody, right?"

"Who?"

"Mason Black."

"Oh! Right, yeah! He did. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just wondering . . ." Bethany bit her lip, wearing an expression that he'd seen many times when she was thinking about a plan that would probably get them in trouble. "Did he ever come back?"

Owen shook his head; he didn't know. Last he'd seen, Mason Black was captured by Nobody when he refused to rewrite Jupiter City. He wasn't even sure how long ago that'd been. Nobody had to have returned the author to the nonfictional world at some point, right?

Bethany stood up, still holding _Doc Twilight_ as she looked around Owen's room. She extended a hand towards Owen, helping him off the ground. "I think I'm going to try talking to Murray Chase. Maybe this afternoon, or someday this week after school."

"Ha!" Owen said, grinning despite himself. "You mean the same guy who you thought was a serial killer?"

"I had it on good authority that he was, because he was watching my house!" she defended, rolling her eyes. "You'd feel the exact same way if some creep was watching _your_ house. I had a right to be cautious. Anyway, that's behind us. Now I know that he was a friend of my father's, and he was even trying to bring him back when he was the Dark. Obviously he knows a lot about my life and my parents' lives, so I can talk to him."

"Why?" Owen asked. "I mean, you've already read a lot about your parents in the Doc Twilight book. And you could always talk to your mom about stuff . . ." She gave him a look, and he quickly kept talking. "I mean, I-I think you should if you want to know why she thinks that about the fictional world. It doesn't hurt to ask."

"I'd rather talk to Murray about it," she said, stubborn as always. She narrowed her eyes. "He can answer my questions. And maybe he knows what happened to Mason."

"He could," Owen said, shrugging. "I don't think they were good friends, though. They didn't totally agree about a lot of things when it came to writing."

"He'll know what I need to hear," Bethany said. She leaned against the wall, crossing her legs as she stared at Owen. "So, what's been going on with you? Did your mom say anything about letting you out of your house?"

He sighed. "Nope. I'm still stuck here. She's forcing me to start studying these boring textbooks that she borrowed from your school. So that's what I've been doing today, and that's what I'll be doing _every_ day." He made a face. "But here's some good news: I'm going to the dog adoption center tonight." A grin formed on his face. "Did I tell you I'm getting a dog?"

Her mouth dropped open. "Wait, what? You are?"

"Yeah! I can't believe it either! I've wanted one for years and years . . . and _years_!"

"Huh. So you're grounded but you're still allowed to get a dog," she said, shaking her head with a smile. "I've wanted to get a dog, but my mom would never let me. She's allergic."

"Yeah," Owen said, pictures of what types of dogs he might see in his mind. "Honestly, I thought I might've imagined our whole conversation. But hearing my mom say it again made me remember it was real! I'm _actually_ getting one. Not that I want to get rid of Spike. I love cats, but dogs are just . . . them!"

Bethany laughed. "I really hope you don't name it something stupid. What are you going to name it, Kiel Gnomenfoot junior?"

"Ha-ha," he said, rolling his eyes. "But no, I was thinking something along the lines of a _different_ fictional character. I haven't decided yet. I'll decide on a name once I get the dog." He paused. "Oh, do you want to come with me to the dog adoption place?"

"I would, but I can't," Bethany said, sighing as she pulled away from the wall. "Let me know when you get one, though. I'll try to come over sometime this week after school."

He smiled. "Thanks. Um, have you seen Kiel lately?"

She looked away towards the window. "Last time I saw him was Friday, when we all went to your house. Other than that? No. He's been kinda tired lately."

"I've been tired too," Owen said, not really noticing the concern in her tone. "This whole day has been completely boring. All I've been doing is studying history." He scrunched his nose. "It'd be better if I could jump into a book and learn everything from there . . ."

"That's definitely a no," Bethany countered. "Most of everything in history books is the bad stuff, like the first and second World Wars, the American Revolution, the Civil War, the —"

"Alright, I get it." Owen held a hand up, to which she gave him an _I told you so_ look. "But wouldn't it be easier to interact with it than read it from a textbook?"

"It'd still be hard," she replied. "Trust me, I jumped into a history book once. It wasn't fun. I landed right in the middle of the ocean, on some navy war ship. It was crazy. I had to jump out right away." She shuddered.

"So none of it was cool?"

"Nope!"

"What about if I jumped in just to see, you know, Hamilton?" Owen asked, remembering the time him and his mother had seen the show _Hamilton_ on Broadway when he was twelve. The experience had been pretty cool, and after that he'd listened to the soundtrack for months after. If he could have the chance to see the real Alexander Hamilton . . . that'd be massive. All things considered, asking for his autograph would be at the top of his list.

"We wouldn't go just to get some guy's autograph! That'd be even worse, because we'd be messing up _history_ , not just a book," Bethany scoffed. "And you're only saying that because you saw _Hamilton_ on Broadway."

Owen's face turned bright red. "Uh, no, Bethany! No! That's — that's not the reason why."

"Uh-huh." He glared at her, only to see her trying to hold back a grin. Then, her phone buzzed in her pocket, and her smile faded as she reached in to grab it. She held the screen up to her face for a few seconds, then looked back at him. "That was Liz. She wants to meet at the library to study for this English test we have tomorrow."

Owen raised an eyebrow. "Really? What's it about?"

"This book called _Frankenstein_. I swear, we've been reading it for the past three months. We finished the book a week ago, but my teacher is giving us a test on Monday. Oh yeah, and Kiel's in that class too. But I doubt he even knows there's a test."

"I still need to hear the full story about that." Owen chuckled. "I can't believe Kiel's willingly at _school_. If I had the option to stay away from anything school-related, I would."

"He had to be there, so that he could talk to my nonfictional self. I didn't remember him back then." She moved to the door. "It's a really, _really_ long story. I'll have to tell you the whole thing soon. It'd probably be easier if Kiel were with us."

"True," Owen muttered as he watched her move towards the stairs. "Oh, wait!" He ran after her, then quickly hugged her at the top of the staircase. It'd become a habit of his to hug her every time he saw her. It made him feel a bit better about everything, honestly. He pulled away, both of them smiling at one another. "See you later?"

"Yeah." Bethany nodded, starting to walk downstairs with her father's comic book in hand. He watched her go, feeling a little saddened at her departure. He wished she'd be able to hang out longer, but for now it seemed that wasn't much of an option. It felt comforting to know that he'd see her and Kiel all the time now.

Neither of them were going anywhere, and Nobody destroying the fictional world wasn't going to change that. At least, Owen hoped it wouldn't. For now, things seemed to be peaceful. But eventually, he knew they'd have to go back to the fictional world, which was in danger from Nobody. The thought of doing that made him a little uneasy. Last time he'd spent there, he was getting chased by hundreds of dinosaurs, a flow of lava, and clouds of ash from an erupting volcano. Not exactly a great memory.

With his broken arm and whatnot, he didn't feel very motivated to go back to the fictional world to fight against the faceless humanoid creature who'd effortlessly thrown him into a _Pick The Plot_ book. He knew it had to be done, though. He couldn't leave those worlds to Nobody's control, not any of them. He loved books too much to ever let that happen, and some of his greatest friends were included in those stories. If the fictional world got wiped out . . . he'd never see them again.

The only thing that kept him willing to face Nobody again was to guarantee the safety of his fictional friends. Owen couldn't even imagine what the faceless man was doing right now, which was unusual given the fact that he'd always had a big imagination. From what he'd heard from Kiel, things weren't looking good for the fictional world. Nobody was most likely destroying everything in his path, now that Bethany and Owen hadn't had to chance to stop him for three years.

When the time came for it, Owen wondered what he _could_ do to contribute saving the fictional world. Was there anything Owen could do, besides using his time powers? And how exactly would that benefit anyone? No one, not even Bethany had been able to stop Nobody yet. What could he, a normal boy, possibly do to reconnect the worlds? He couldn't beat Nobody, that was clear. He'd lost that fight already. After all, he was just a nonfictional kid with a broken arm, which wasn't any use against someone who could rewrite themselves to be whatever they wanted.

Okay, yes, maybe some planning ahead would be useful on Owen's part. He knew this was coming, but Bethany had failed to mention much about it, and she hadn't said a single thing about _Pick The Plot_. . . probably so she wouldn't hurt his feelings. But it'd help if they talked about this. Between the two of them and Kiel, they had to come up with a plan for when they went to the fictional world.

Knowing Bethany, she'd probably try pulling fictional characters out of books left and right, which wouldn't exactly help them. He'd have to think this through . . . maybe they could benefit from grouping their friends together, like the Avengers. That'd be cool. Having their friends with them would be a great idea, one that Owen was totally on board with, but it wouldn't mean anything unless they had a clue of how to stop Nobody. Really, Owen didn't know how his friends — much less him — would have the power to stop the faceless man. So far he seemed to be unbeatable.

But maybe they'd come up with a great plan, and the hope wouldn't be lost! Just like when they'd fought the Dark, Owen had come up with the idea of giving them superpowers, so they'd had a chance of defeating him. It had worked, so maybe they could do something similar? He didn't know. He'd figure that out once the time actually came.

When would the time come, anyway? As much as he wanted to save the fictional world, he also wanted some more time to relax. It was nice to be at home, just doing regular things and not being in danger at every second. For now, he'd rather just watch movies, hang out with his best friends, and read books without jumping into them. And if his arm could miraculously heal within the next few weeks, that'd be great too. Not likely, but great.

* * *

Kiel decided that there was a big difference between seeing one dog versus seeing fifty.

Upon walking into the room, the barking of dogs filled his ears, almost making him jump in surprise. His wide-eyed stare trailed around the room, taking everything in. He was hardly able to concentrate on just one thing, which might've been a side-effect of the 5-Hour-Energy drink, but he blamed it on the dogs. There were dogs everywhere; each sat in their own cage, which were filled with an assortment of blankets, food, and toys.

He loved it here as much as Owen did, which was saying something. From pointing at every dog they came across — to bending down to stick his hand through the cage — to making _aww_ ing noises every time a dog looked at him — to even barking back at some dogs. After just watching him in amusement for some time, Kiel joined in, sticking his hand through the cages and petting the dogs' soft fur.

He'd never seen so many in one place, and he certainly had never seen any in Magisteria before. It shocked him that so many were in cages like this, waiting for someone to adopt them. Kiel was about ready to throw all the cages open and take every single dog home with him. He knew how it felt to not have a home. He'd lived on the streets for some time before he luckily found a place to live. Why shouldn't they?

"Which one are you thinking, Owen?" Ms. Conners asked from behind them as they walked through the room. She seemed to be enjoying this far less than her son, but at least she wasn't dragging them home.

"I don't know." Owen shook his head. "I can't just _make up my mind_. There are so many!"

Kiel nodded his agreement. "Good luck with that. I really have no idea how you're going to choose. If I were you, I'd take all of them."

At Kiel's statement, Owen looked hopefully at his mother. "Which we don't have the money for," Ms. Conners reminded them with a grimace, rubbing his shoulder.

"Right," Owen muttered, sighing. "I'll keep looking for only _one_ , then."

"Good. Let me know if you find anything." His mother smiled, then walked over to the other side of the room to look at another cluster of dogs.

"I still can't believe you were faking being _German_ ," Owen said with a laugh, continuing the conversation they'd started in the car ride to the dog adoption center. Since the ride was long, Kiel had told him everything from start to finish — in more detail than he'd been able to on the night they'd rescued Owen. Of course, they'd shared all of this information through whispers, to prevent Owen's mother from hearing.

"I have to say, I made a pretty amazing German exchange student," Kiel said, winking at him. "And I still have to keep faking it whenever I'm at school. There are times when I've completely forgotten about it, and once I almost replied to someone without the accent!"

Owen's eyes went wide. "Can you do the accent right now?"

"Sure." Kiel shrugged, then cleared his throat. In the best German accent he could muster, he said, "I'm Kiel Gnomenfoot, savior of Magisteria and hero to everyone!"

"Whoa," Owen said, his voice suddenly quiet. "You really _do_ sound German. And you learned all of that . . . just from watching YouTube videos?"

"Pretty much," the boy magician said. "It got easier once I kept practicing. You don't wanna know how many videos I watched. Too many to count."

"Boys!" Ms. Conners called from several feet away. "Are you just talking or are you going to look at dogs?"

"Sorry! We'll keep looking!" Owen shouted, exchanging a look with Kiel before turning back to the dogs. He bent down at one of the cages, where a small dog was energetically wagging it's tail.

Kiel observed the surrounding dogs, all of which stared at the two boys with excited expressions. It would be easy for him to release them with magic, but he knew there was no way he could take all of them home. He wasn't exactly the most responsible person, which was something he'd accepted long ago about himself.

He might be able to take care of one dog, maybe two, but he'd rather not take his chances with the problems he was currently facing. He barely understood anything about them, other than the fact that they were nonfictional, and were commonly used as pets. The only thing he could do was help Owen find the dog he most wanted.

Eventually, they did a lap around the entire adoption center, stopping at nearly every cage along the way. At last, Owen settled on one; it was a female dog with long, fluffy ears, formally known as a Cocker Spaniel. Once Owen's mother agreed to his selection, she bought the dog, spending more time than was necessary on paperwork before they left.

When all was said and done, they drove back to Owen's house, the new dog wedged between Owen and Kiel in the backseat. At first, she seemed nervous around them, but she warmed up quickly. She was now wagging her tail as Owen pet her, a huge smile on his face.

"Any ideas on what to name her?" Owen's mother asked from the driver's seat. "We should look through that baby names website when we get home. There are tons of girl names that are commonly used for dogs —"

"Wait, wait, wait," Owen interjected. "I'm not naming her some random name. I'm going to name her after a fictional character." He threw Kiel an apologetic look. "I've been trying to think of names all day."

"What about that movie you like?" Kiel asked, racking his brain for the right name. There were many he'd heard about, but it was hard to remember it since he'd never seen it. "What is it called? Star fights? No — _Star Wars_."

"That's a great idea!" Owen's mother said. "Maybe we could call her Leia, like Princess Leia?"

Owen shook his head. "I wanna do something creative. Something no one's ever thought of before. How about . . . oh, I know!" He looked at Kiel, a grin on his face. "Bark Vader!"

"Oh, boy," Ms. Conners murmured, not looking to happy with his choice.

"Bark Vader?" Kiel said, feeling confused. He didn't remember _that_ character. "Oh, like that villain Darth Vader! That's perfect!"

"I know," Owen said, petting his dog on the top of her head. "How's that sound? Bark Vader sound good to you?" The dog didn't answer, but it licked Owen's face, which seemed a response in itself. "Okay. Bark Vader it is. Oh . . . and we can call her Vadie for short!"

* * *

 **Flashback**

 _"_ _Ready to see your first dragon?" Bethany's father asked, his hand gripped around the small three year-old's._

 _This was Bethany's tenth trip into the world beyond the books, which her parents called the fictional world. At first, the trips had been frightening, but she got used to them the more she went on them. The good part was: she was never alone. Everywhere she went, her father came with her, holding tightly onto her hand. She liked how different each world was, and how each place brought new and exciting things. She'd never been able to experience that in the real world, the world she lived in when she wasn't "jumping into books", as her mother called it._

 _"_ _I think so," Bethany murmured, looking up from the ground and into her father's face, who smiled reassuringly at her, as if there was nothing to worry about. Her slight nervousness at seeing a real-life dragon subsided, and she smiled back._

 _"_ _Alright, let's go," he said, dramatically waving their joined hands. Both of them leaped into the open book at their feet, but not before Bethany's mother shouted, "Be safe!"_

 _Bethany giggled as the world changed around her, and a warm sensation went all throughout her body as they dived into the book. She tried to imagine what her father had shown her, that her body was forming into words now that she was apart of a book._

 _Before she could think of anything else, they landed in the story. A picturesque scene of floating mountains filled Bethany's vision, and beyond that was a beautiful red and gold sunset. She cried out in delight upon seeing it. Everywhere she looked, there were dragons flying around, people riding on their backs and making joyful noises._

 _"_ _Daddy, look!" Bethany shouted, pointing as a dragon spun in the air, only to straighten itself out as it collided with another flying dragon. Next to her, her father laughed. His laugh was long and loud, and it echoed across the horizon. Hearing him like that always made Bethany laugh too._

 _She watched, mesmerized as dragons of all colors flew around, barely taking notice of them. She loved how some of them were bigger than even her father, with huge, bat-like wings, and others were too tiny for a person to sit on one. She wanted desperately to ride one, but she doubted either of her parents would allow her to do that. So she continued to simply observe, pointing out dragons here and there to her father, who silently soaked up her words, grinning from ear to ear._

 _Then, just as the sun set, something terrifying happened. The loudest noise Bethany had ever heard echoed through the sky, and all of the other dragons scattered. A dragon as wide as a house flew into view, it's enormous wings sending little tornados into them and it's mouth opened wide, firing spewing out of it. Bethany screamed, and her father grabbed ahold of her, tugging upward._

 _Before she knew it, she was back at home. Her father let go of her hand, stepping back and rubbing a hand over his face. "That was a bad idea," he muttered._

 _Bethany stared at the book they'd just come out of with wide, frightened eyes. She could still hear the dragon's loud roars in her ears, nearly blowing her eardrums to their capacity. She could still see it's beady eyes as it stared her down, making her feel as small as an ant. Her face crumbled, and she began to whimper as hot tears fell from her eyes, streaming down her cheeks in an endless flow._

 _"_ _Oh, no. What's the matter, sweetie?" her father asked, looking at her in surprise and putting his hands on her shoulders. She tried to respond, but her throat got choked up, making it feel like a rock had wedged itself there. As she continued to cry, her breathing became more labored, and she sucked in short, quick inhales of breath. Her eyes darted around the room, at anywhere but her father. With the tears, it became harder to breathe, and her body shook all over._

 _"_ _It's okay, it's okay," her father whispered, his brows furrowed in concern as he stared at her. "It was only a dragon. You're okay now, Beth. You're okay now."_

 _"_ _Christian?" Bethany's mother walked into the room, looking confused. Then, her eyes landed on Bethany, and she sighed. "Oh dear. What happened, honey? Are you okay?"_

 _"_ _She saw a dragon," Bethany's father said quietly, focused on Bethany. Her mother hurried over to her, standing from a short distance away as her father put his hand on Bethany's face. "Hey, hey. Look at me." When she finally did, he said, "Take short deep breaths. Here, I'll show you." To demonstrate, he slowly breathed in and out through his nose, inhaling for several seconds and exhaling for the same amount. "Now you try. Breathe, honey. Just breathe. Breathe for me, okay?"_

 _Bethany tried to nod, her body still shaking as she breathed in and out through her nose, mirroring his movements. The tears stopped, making it easier to focus on her breaths. She forced herself to take shaky breaths — in and out — staring with wide eyes at her father._

 _"_ _That's it," he said as she continued to breathe slowly, in the same way he'd done. "There you go. Keep breathing, you're doing great." He smiled and reached down to squeeze her hands. "There's nothing to be afraid of, see? It was only a dragon. There's nothing to be afraid of."_

 _"_ _Only a dragon," Bethany repeated, feeling worn out and a little dizzy from all the crying. She took another deep, slow breath, and her pounding heart became less painful against her chest._

 _"_ _Yeah. Only a dragon," he said, nodding. Her mother released the breath she'd been holding and threw her arms around the both of them, enveloping them into a hug. Bethany closed her eyes, her father's comforting words running in circles through her head. He was her hero, he was always right about everything._

 _If he said there was nothing to be afraid of, then there was nothing to be afraid of._

* * *

 _"_ _Doesn't matter if we change, doesn't matter at all. Don't you worry about me, friend. Don't you worry if it doesn't feel the same . . ."_


	19. The Math War

**_Hometown (by Sheppard)_**

 _"_ _You are my hometown. Where I can slow down. We got it good, we got it all figured out . . ."_

* * *

It was a full week since Owen had returned home, and he was once again working on schoolwork, just like he'd been doing for the past four days. During three out of those days, he'd been able to sneak out to attend the book club with Bethany on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. After the hour long meetings, he, Bethany and Kiel would hang out at Bethany's house for a few hours.

At first, Owen had been reluctant to sneak out after his trip to the book club on Saturday. But he'd learned his mother's work schedule pretty well, so she normally either worked in the afternoons or the mornings. It depended on the day, which was why Owen had to keep a careful watch on his mother when she left for work.

He always did some studying as well as re-reading his favorite books in the mornings, and in the afternoons he'd walk and play with Bark Vader, his new dog. Once Bethany came up with the idea to meet at her house after school, that became something Owen could look forward to. He also loved the book club meetings, because he got to talk about books, which were his favorite thing in the entire world.

He didn't understand why Bethany didn't fully express her love for the meetings as much as Owen did. Maybe because she wasn't friends with any of the other kids, aside from the girl named Liz. He wasn't friends with any of them either, but all awkwardness faded away when he got to talk about books, so he hoped he was making a good impression.

He knew he wasn't supposed to go out without asking his mother, but it was becoming easier to sneak out and he never got caught. Since he didn't fully trust Bark Vader to stay home alone with supervision, he brought the dog along to Bethany's house. He also suspected Spike might be plotting against Bark Vader, so he wasn't one-hundred percent comfortable with leaving his two pets by themselves. Also, both Bethany and Kiel loved Owen's new dog, so they weren't against the extra company.

During the three times Owen, Bethany, and Kiel had hung out this week after school at Bethany's house, they'd spent majority of the time either sharing stories, playing with Bark Vader, watching funny videos on the Internet, playing board games, or — in Bethany and Owen's case — reading books together. It was the most fun Owen had in a while. They hadn't been able to go anywhere else besides Bethany's house, since they didn't have much time after school and places like the movies or the mall would have to wait until the weekend. Owen desperately wanted to go to the library, but that was the last place he'd be able to go, given the fact that his mother would be there.

Today was another day that his mother worked an afternoon shift, which meant she'd was helping Owen during the morning with his studies. When she wasn't at work, that was normally what she did, only because he tended to get bored when he was studying alone. There was plenty of school he'd missed, and he hardly understood many of the harder, more advanced subjects. The only thing that made sense was English, which didn't have much to study from anyway.

He sat at the kitchen table, longingly staring out the window as his mother helped him with eighth grade level math. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't focus on his work. Raindrops splattered in heaps against the window's glass, forming different shapes and making it easy for Owen's imagination to run wild. Currently, he was imagining the raindrops as birds, flying from tree to tree as it slid down the window.

Then, he imagined himself as a bird, free to go where he pleased without anything holding him back. If he could fly, he'd go to all the places that he'd never been, like tropical islands or the tallest mountains. He'd fly as high as he could, high enough to be surrounded by the white, fluffy clouds that he loved staring at. What would his wings look like? What type of bird would he be, and what color? Would he be yellow or blue, or maybe red or green? There were so many possibilities!

"Owen," his mother said, releasing a frustrated sigh. "Are you listening to what I'm saying?"

"What?" Owen said, pulling his head out of his hands and turning to look at his mother. "Yeah, of course I am. What do you think I've _been_ doing?"

"Daydreaming," she replied, raising her eyebrows at him. Well, she wasn't wrong. That was exactly what he'd been doing.

She put her finger on the math problem they'd been working on. "Focus on _this_ , not the window. I'm only a librarian. I know just as much as you do about math."

Owen fought the urge to roll his eyes, since math always annoyed him. He scooted his chair closer to the table and picked his pencil up before staring down at the math problem. He'd just recently started learning Algebra I, so it was difficult to figure out some things. The textbook explained much of the material and gave instructions on how to do it, but he still had problems understanding.

Math had never been his favorite subject, that was clear. His brain simply didn't understand it, and trying to learn it was like trying to push an elephant with two hands; it was impossible. Math wasn't _impossible_ , of course, but most times it felt like it was. How would math benefit him when he got a career of his own in the future, where he already figured he'd become an author? Math was also one of the most boring things Owen could think of, so that made learning it harder. He knew seventh grade math, but that was it. It only seemed to get harder and more strenuous from there.

"I have an idea," Owen's mother said, scratching her head. "We can start off with the easiest problems — like the ones you learned in Pre-Algebra — and then we can eventually work our way up to the harder ones. It'll be like a game!"

Owen wasn't sure how math could ever be considered a game, but he nodded anyway. "Okay, yeah." This couldn't get any worse, right? As long as there weren't nearly as many fractions as there'd been in Mr. Barberry's class, he hoped things would get easier.

After three more hours of practicing the math problems in his workbook, Owen took a break to eat lunch. His mother had just left for work, leaving him alone in the house. If it was possible for someone's brain to hurt, that was exactly what he was feeling. Especially since it was math he was dealing with, which was particularly his hardest subject. As he ate his meal, Bark Vader sat on the floor next to the table, staring directly at the food as Owen consumed it.

"You know what Mom said," Owen said, setting down his ham and cheese sandwich for a moment to look at the dog at the foot of his chair. "I'm not supposed to feed you anything other than _your_ food."

Bark Vader continued to stare from him to the food with huge, pleading eyes, her tongue lazily hanging out of her mouth. Anything she did made Owen's heart melt from the cuteness, and this was no exception. It was close to impossible to ignore her, but he had to listen to his mother.

As soon as they got Bark Vader, they'd traveled to the pet store to pick up the necessary supplies, such as food, a collar and leash, and toys. His mother had thoroughly searched on the Internet for the healthiest food alternatives to avoid accidentally poisoning their dogs, and it was then that she'd made the rule that they couldn't feed Bark Vader any human food. It was off-limits.

Owen doubted that a small piece of cheese or ham could kill anyone, let alone his dog, but his mother had made him promise not to feed the dog anything besides real dog food. He'd become accustomed to obeying her rules, so he listened, not wanting to get into any more trouble than he'd already been in. He was proud of himself for not breaking any of her rules so far —

Aside from the staying at home part, but . . . c'mon! It was unfair of her to think he could ever stay cooped up in one place. She was only allowing him to see Bethany and Kiel on the weekends and not on the weekdays, which just didn't seem plausible. He deserved to be with his friends all the time, not only two days of the week. That was the main reason he snuck out, because he was certain that he'd die of boredom if he only stayed at home.

Other than that one rule, he was being a perfect son. He was handling his responsibilities well, and soon, maybe his mother would lift his grounding and allow him to work at the library again! He felt a lot of guilt whenever he sneaked out, but it made him feel slightly better that she hadn't caught him in the act. His mother didn't know anything about him sneaking out, and hopefully she never would.

Owen smiled, leaning down to scratch Bark Vader around her incredibly fluffy ears. "I'm not giving you any food, okay? You just had your breakfast two hours ago."

The dog made a noise of protest, drool already threatening to pour out of her mouth. She got to her feet and nudged her head into Owen's leg a few times before sitting back down again to stare at his food.

He laughed. "No way, Vadie. Sorry. Rules are rules, and I plan on following them!" He slid out of his chair, taking the remains of his sandwich and dumping it in the trash. He turned back to the dog, who had followed him as he'd walked across the room. "But since I've been studying all morning, we can go upstairs and read some comic books. That sound good?"

Bark Vader didn't respond like Owen hoped she would; she only stuck her tongue out in response and turned her gaze to the trash can, as if hoping for more food. Just like he'd done with Spike in the past, he had tried to get Bark Vader to speak. He always suspected (well, hoped) that animals could actually talk, but they chose not to. It'd been his lifelong goal to make this a reality, but Bethany highly doubted it could ever happen. Her loss. She was always skeptical about his theories.

After flipping through one of his favorites, X-Men comics, for a couple of hours, Owen dropped the comic book he'd been holding to the floor and receded downstairs. Bark Vader stayed in Owen's room, not bothering to move from her spot on the bed as she gnawed at a stuffed lizard toy.

The rain had let up by afternoon and Owen decided it would do him some good to get fresh air. It proved very difficult to pick up both his science and history books with only one hand, but he managed to finally get a good grip and not lose his balance as he walked to the front porch. He slid his heavy schoolbooks out of his hand, letting them clatter loudly to the floor.

He adjusted his cast, then sat down beside his schoolbooks and took a moment to stare at the outside world. Drops of rain fell from the roof, splattering the ground every so often. Surprisingly, the porch was completely dry. The air was still heavy with moisture and the sky was overcast, making the world look gray and dull. Despite this, the weather was warmer, which was a strange but welcome contrast to the previous weeks' cold.

He sighed, wishing he was doing something exciting like hanging out with his friends or jumping into _Narnia_ or the Harry Potter books right now. Even saving the world from Nobody was preferable to this. It was hard to distract himself from the pain in his arm and studying for hours upon end really didn't help. Daydreaming helped a little, since he'd started doing that more often after he'd come home. What he really needed was his best friends; they always helped him through things even when they didn't realize it.

He wished he could attend school right now instead of waiting until his junior year. Not because of the boring classes and strenuous work, but because he'd see his friends all the time. Staying at home with no one to talk to — with the exception of Spike and Bark Vader — only made him lonely.

His mother was gone half the day, and there were only so many activities he could do before the loneliness took over. Of course, it wasn't an uncommon feeling for Owen. Back in sixth grade, he'd gotten used to sitting alone and spending all of his time reading and obsessing over books. The difference was: he'd been able to go to the library after school, which was always a source of comfort. Now, he couldn't do that.

The afternoons that he got to spend at Bethany's house and the book club took that feeling away entirely, and it gave him a few hours of fun and socialization. But he wished he didn't have to sneak out to enjoy himself. He still had fun by himself, because he got to play with his pets, eat all the snacks of his choosing, and read the books he already owned. But eventually, he knew he'd go crazy if he stayed in his house all of the time. Could "grounded" be another word for "prison"? Maybe it was!

He drifted off into another daydream, and this time, he imagined himself in the fictional world, wielding a futuristic weapon as he kicked down Science Soldiers left and right with ease. Bethany and Kiel were at the sidelines, cheering him on as he shot a laser beam straight through another Science Soldier's chest. Kiel then winked, and Owen winked back in a totally awesome way, making Bethany cheer even louder.

"Great job, Owen!" Charm said, appearing into view once he'd finished off the rest of the villains.

Owen brushed her off, trying to act nonchalant about her compliment. Sunglasses appeared in his hand, and he put them on. "It was nothing. All in a day's work for Owen Conners."

She smiled. "I'm impressed. You've become so good at fighting, even better than all the heroes in the entire world! _And_ I heard you've been nominated for five Emmys and three Oscars! You're so amazing! I wish you would date me, Owen."

"I have no problems with that," Owen whispered, grinning from ear to ear. "I've been hoping you'd say that. For a while, actually."

She fit her hand into his, then leaned towards him and kissed him lightly on the cheek, making him blush. "That sounds perfect. Let's make everyone jealous of us. Especially Bethany and Kiel, who you think have crushes on each other."

Except when Charm pulled away, it wasn't her anymore. For some reason, Charm had morphed into Kara Dox, who was now holding his hand with an enormous smile on her face. She glanced down at their joined hands before looking back up into Owen's eyes, making him feel warm and bubbly all over, as if he'd just drank hot chocolate.

"I miss you," she said quietly, her smile fading.

"I'm right here," he replied. "How could you miss me?"

"You promised you'd come back for me. Why haven't you come yet?"

Wait, what? His daydreams never went like _this_ before. A lot of them were of Charm, because he'd dreamed about them being a couple several times. But never had he daydreamed about _Kara,_ of all people.

Ripping himself from his storyline of thoughts, Owen blinked rapidly, tuning back into reality. He heard his mother's voice in his head, scolding him about not doing his schoolwork like he was supposed to.

Sighing again, he pulled his science book onto his lap and opened it, not feeling any motivation to do work. Unfortunately, he knew that he really didn't have a choice in the matter. This was what he was supposed to do, and it was the only thing he _could_ do. Being homeschooled meant he had to set aside time for studying his work. He wasn't on a strict schedule for when to do it, but he preferred to get bits of his studying done in the morning and early afternoon before he saw his friends.

The time when he'd hang out with Bethany and Kiel during the late afternoon couldn't come soon enough. Studying made the time pass even slower, making everything feel as though it were in slow motion. The moment he'd get to see Bethany and Kiel again felt like a billion lightyears away.

* * *

"Sara, what is the answer to question 19?" the math teacher asked, based on the homework the class had been assigned the night before.

The girl named Sara looked over her workbook. "Um . . . x equals 61?"

The teacher shook his head. "That's incorrect. Anyone else? Josh?"

"I got ten million," came the reply, which made many of the students laugh.

The teacher sighed, looking vaguely annoyed as he tapped his pencil against his desk. "What about . . . Bethany?"

Bethany abruptly sat up straighter in her chair, having been slumped over and nonrespondent for the majority of class. She felt a familiar wash of uncomfortableness at the sensation of everyone's eyes on her, but she managed to get the answer out. "X equals . . . 23."

"Finally!" the teacher shouted, startling everyone from their dazes. "A correct answer!" He gave the class a grin, which none of them returned because they were either sleep-deprived, scrolling on their phones, bored, or all of the above.

In Bethany's case, she was always bored in math class but nonetheless forced herself to pay attention so she'd get good grades. She didn't particularly like school, but she knew it was necessary to at least put in some effort. She hadn't had much time to study the material since she hung out with Owen and Kiel nearly every afternoon, which was definitely more important than homework. She still found the time to do homework during the day, though, and she luckily wasn't having much trouble catching up.

"What about question 20?" the teacher asked. "Did anyone get the answer?"

A boy raised his hand. "I got 2 for my answer."

"Correct," the teacher said. "Let's go to question 21. I know this one was a bit tricky, so I'll go over it on the white board." He picked up a marker and started re-writing the math problem on the board.

It was then that Bethany zoned out and spent the rest of class staring blankly at the wall, not wanting to spend another second restrained in this room. It wasn't until twenty minutes later that the bell rang, releasing the students to their next class. Bethany joined the group of students barreling out the door, all looking reasonably happy that math class had finished.

Bethany was walking down the crowded hallway, her hands on the straps of her backpack. At times like these when the students were rushing to class, it could sometimes be chaotic and she was often unintentionally shoved around. Today was no different, which was why she stuck to the very middle of the hallway to avoid getting trampled. Many of the kids didn't even apologize if they pushed her; they just continued walking.

Owen was very lucky to not be at school. Sure, he was grounded, but that was far better than being here. School mostly irritated Bethany. It made her even more irritated that she couldn't just escape into a book like she used to. She knew it was already starting to drive her crazy to stay here in the nonfictional world. She'd jump into books in a heartbeat, but she was so busy with everything that she wasn't sure if she had the time. That was the excuse she'd created, at least.

She wasn't even sure if she'd be ready to go back to the fictional world again, after everything she and her friends had gone through. She missed the fictional world so much that it made her heart ache to be separated from it, but sometimes there were breaks that needed to be had. Being away from the fictional world felt like the opposite of normal. Most nights she could hardly get to sleep, since her mind was always racing. She used to spend every night inside a book, but for now she wasn't doing that anymore.

Jumping into books had always been a huge part of her life, which made not jumping into them even stranger, but it was important for her and her friends to stray away from the fictional world for a little while — for Owen's sake. It seemed to be working, too.

Things had just started to feel safe again, and that was enough for her . . . even if a huge part of her really wanted to jump into books for the sake of an adventure. Truthfully, that was all she wanted to do. It was starting to make her feel a bit restless after only a week of keeping herself in the real world. But that was the right, safe thing to do. Especially with Nobody lurking around. She could hold off a bit longer.

She reminded herself that soon, they'd go back to jumping into books. She felt a rush of excitement — and an equal amount of fear — when she thought of it. There was a lot to take care of, but it wasn't like the fictional world was dying off at this moment, right? Another week spent in the nonfictional world didn't sound crazy to her, since her friends were enjoying themselves and she finally had some time to relax . . . as far as relaxing for her could go.

It wasn't like she'd sworn off jumping into books forever. Books would always be there, no matter what. So would her father. He'd always be there, waiting in Jupiter City. And when the time came that she'd face Nobody for the final time, she'd bring him home.

"Do you know what you're wearing to Prom?" Liz asked, suddenly appearing next to Bethany. "I was thinking of getting a long dress, but Mariam says I should go knee length."

"What?" Bethany asked, shaking herself out of her daze. She looked over at Liz, feeling surprised at the question. Prom hadn't even crossed her mind. "Oh. I don't know. I think you should go short."

"But I don't know if I should," Liz said, wrinkling her nose. "I have to impress people, you know? And if Kiel's going, I need to wear something that looks nice."

"Anything you wear will look nice," Bethany replied, channeling her inner Gwen. While her nonfictional self had accepted this, she felt a little weirded-out that Liz still had a huge crush on Kiel. The reason behind it? She didn't know.

Not only did it make her uncomfortable, but it made her feel regret, because there was no way Kiel would ever like Liz. Kiel was him, and Liz was just . . . bubbly and romance-obsessed. She doubted Kiel even talked to her about anything other than school.

"Not true!" Liz scoffed. "That's why I need to pick out a dress months beforehand." She sighed. "I guess it doesn't matter too much." Then she looked at Bethany. "Wait, I forgot to ask! Are _you_ going to Prom?"

Bethany frowned. "I don't know. I never thought of it." She shrugged. "I guess I'll go. Maybe. If I do, we'll both have to wear the long dress." She grinned a little. "There's no way I'd wear anything too short."

"You're going?" her friend exclaimed with glee, making Bethany quickly shake her head in protest, but she couldn't get a word in. "Did a boy ask you? Ooh — I bet it was that boy from the book club. What's his name? Owen."

Bethany only stared for a moment, too shocked to say anything. Then she laughed, harder and harder. All the while, Liz gave her a perplexed look until she redeemed herself. " _What_? You're serious? You think Owen, and _me_ —" She burst out into another fit of laughter.

"Well, what _else_ was I supposed to think?" Liz asked. "You bring this boy to the book club — who's really cute, by the way — and then you're always whispering to each other. You barely even talk to me during it. You're always talking to your boyfriend."

Bethany bit her lip to keep herself from laughing more. "Um, okay. _No_. Owen's not my boyfriend. He's my best friend. We've been best friends for years. That could never, ever, _ever_ happen. Ever."

"Oh," Liz said, nodding. "So what about Kiel? I hate to say it, but I don't think he likes me. I can't really tell. But you know, if he doesn't go with me and . . ."

Bethany's smile vanished, and she raised her eyebrows. " _What_? Kiel? Oh, no. We're just friends. Plus, I thought you liked him."

"Yeah, well I kind of still do. I don't know. Not as much as I used to." Liz shrugged, giving Bethany a small smile. "But you seem to be better friends than I am with him. You're always talking to each other, like, all the time."

"So?" Bethany said, her face turning red. "Can't I just be friends with boys without any romance involved?"

"Yeah, of course!" Liz said quickly. "Just sayin'. All the good ones'll be gone . . . and by 'good ones,' I mean the few people at this school who would definitely ask you to Prom. And of all the people at this school, I would say Kiel or Owen is your best bet. Not that you have to go with either of them. Because I still kind of like Kiel. But I don't think he'll ask me, so maybe he'll ask you!"

Bethany fought the strong urge to glare at her. "That's not encouraging at all."

"It's the truth and you know it, Bethany," Liz told her. "A ton of boys — or girls — would ask you to Prom if you opened yourself up more and stopped worrying."

She rolled her eyes, but sometimes it was better not to fight Liz on things like this. Although she didn't consider her a best friend, Liz was still her friend and knew a lot about Bethany. Since she also had her fair share of romance and dances combined, Liz took school dances very seriously.

Liz was definitely a little . . . overly obsessed with other people's love lives — most specifically her own. It was most likely from the wide variety of romance novels she had read. And that meant she took every chance she had to counsel Bethany on the do's and dont's with romance — not that Bethany herself had ever even dated anyone, nor did she really need advice right now. She could handle that on her own when she was ready for it.

"I don't worry _that_ much," Bethany began, earning a look from her friend. "Fine, I do. But that has nothing to do with who I'd go with to Prom. Seriously, it doesn't. For now, I probably won't even go, so I won't have to worry about that."

"Are you sure?" Liz asked. "We could go dress shopping. You don't even have to go with anyone if you don't want. A lot of people go as groups."

"No thanks." Bethany smiled. "I'll decide later if I want to go. Isn't it in May, anyway?"

"Yeah. But everyone picks out their dresses months ahead of time."

 _Why bother?_ Bethany thought. If she wanted to grab a dress for Prom, she'd save herself the money and would borrow something from _The Great Gatsby_. There were plenty of fancy dresses in that book, weren't there? She'd never jumped into it, so she didn't really know.

As they parted ways to their separate classes, Bethany wondered what a school dance would be like. She'd never gone to one before, and she never had any intention of going. But maybe it _would_ be fun, if she went with Owen and Kiel and her other fictional friends. She just wouldn't know if she'd enjoy it. She wasn't the type of girl to wear a dress or makeup or spend five hours curling their hair. It just seemed so foreign to her.

With the threat of Nobody destroying the fictional world, she wasn't even sure if she'd make it to Prom. It simply hadn't crossed her mind, but now that it had, she wondered what it'd be like if she attended in three months. Hypothetically, what if she _did_ defeat Nobody, saving the fictional world in the process? What would life be like when she was no longer in danger anymore, when she was free to be half-fictional and her father would be with her all the time? It was almost unimaginable.

Just as she pulled out her notebook to prepare for Latin class, Principal Dunlap's voice rang out over the loudspeaker. "Kiel Bauer, please report to the principal's office immediately."

Bethany's eyes widened, both from surprise and genuine fear for her friend. What had Kiel done, and why was he being sent to the principals office?

* * *

 **One hour earlier**

Kiel knew that he'd gone too far today.

This morning had brought another warning, one that sent shivers down his spine. His cape ( _his cape!_ ) had disappeared as well, right before he'd left for school. At its absence, he felt a cold, numb feeling. Before he knew it, he was pouring four glasses of 5-Hour-Energy, determined to gain control of something as everything derailed around him. Thinking back on it now, that wasn't the smartest idea.

He was unable to stop moving. Sitting still in his desk just wasn't an option, and he had to constantly move his legs and hands. The jittery feeling he always felt had intensified, making his heart pound and his body shake relentlessly. He was barely able to focus in his classes, and he'd fumbled with his pencil more than once when he tried to write notes. More than a few people had asked him if he was okay, making him wonder if he was really being that obvious.

It didn't get better throughout the day, but he remained positive, telling himself that he could handle anything. He'd get through this, just like he'd gotten through everything else. Unless things careened out of control, there wasn't a single thing to worry about. And so far, he was handling it fine. He was afraid, but he believed that he could get through this. He always did.

As it turned out, gym class wasn't a good combination with what he was feeling. The t-shirts and shorts that the boys had to wear were always tight against Kiel's skin, making him sweat every time he wore it. He thought that gym class would be a good idea, because running around would burn off his hyperness and extra energy. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect.

The students were playing a game of soccer, something that Kiel had always looked forward to ever since he learned about it. Kicking a ball around seemed much more fun than sitting at a desk. They were split into teams, and each person was stationed at their own spot. Someone threw the ball into the court, and the game began.

Kiel jumped into action, running alongside his teammates as the opposing team kicked the ball towards their goal. It took a few seconds to figure out who had the ball. Once he spotted the girl who was kicking it, he ran straight towards her. He rolled in what he hoped was an impressive way, then leaped up and kicked the ball with the side of his foot, sending it flying in the other direction.

A grin formed on his face, and his body almost seemed to vibrate as he made contact with the ball again and ran towards the other team's goal, shoving others out of the way as they tried to stop him. His legs seemed to run faster than he ever had, giving him the sensation that he was flying. With one final kick, he sent the ball falling into the net. An array of cheers and groans were heard behind him, and someone slapped him encouragingly on the back.

A whistle blowed, and the coach jogged over to them. "Nice hit, Kiel! I'm impressed! In all my time working here, I've never seen anyone roll on the ground before hitting the ball. In America, that's called showing off." Some of the class laughed.

"Thanks. I _am_ pretty impressive," Kiel said, earning a few more laughs.

The couch smiled. "Maybe you should consider joining the soccer team if you'll be here next year!"

"Maybe," he said with a wink, not having any intention to attend school anymore after he was done here.

The couch nodded, seemingly satisfied, then clapped her hands as she walked back to the sidelines. "Everyone, get back to your places!"

"We're doing this again?" Kiel asked, bouncing from foot to foot. He wiped his sweaty palms against his shorts, unsure why he was sweating more than usual. He was still shaking uncontrollably, but if anyone noticed, they didn't comment.

"Yeah, it's a soccer game," a boy named Logan, who was on the opposite team, said with a snort. He peered closer at Kiel. "Uh, do you need to go to the bathroom, or something?"

Kiel scoffed. "No. What makes you say that?"

"No reason. I know _exactly_ what you're doing," the boy said, imitating Kiel by exaggerating a wink. Kiel rolled his eyes. Whenever other people winked it didn't look nearly as cool as when _he_ did it.

He followed the others back to their original spots, then shifted around impatiently as he waited for the ball to be tossed into the court. As soon as the ball landed, everybody scattered, chasing after whoever was kicking the ball. Kiel beamed when he realized it was his team, and the student made it to the opposite team's side, kicking the ball into the net and scoring another point for their team.

The rest of the game went by quickly, since majority of the kids weren't too invested in playing soccer, or became tired after playing for several minutes. Kiel enjoyed all of it, and he even managed to get the ball and score his team a few more points, which he was quite proud of. It was the first time he'd been truly distracted from his current situation, which was a plus.

He seemed to be learning new things every day about the nonfictional world, and things that included danger were at the top of his list. Not that soccer was very dangerous, but surely it could be. If he ever found the time, maybe he could start a soccer team of his own when he lived in Magisteria again. Even better — the soccer ball could be set on fire while they played. It would certainly make the game more exciting.

Once it was over, it seemed to have heightened his adrenaline, making him even more jittery. As he walked to the boy's locker room, a powerful energy coursed through his veins, making his skin feel uncomfortably itchy for some reason. He pushed open the door, then sat down and tore his shirt off, not wanting to spend another second in his sweaty clothes.

The other boys filed into the room, talking to each other in loud voices. He didn't pay much attention to them. Since there was also a shower, he was able to quickly rinse himself off before he changed into his normal clothes. Thanks to his renewed energy, he'd been much quicker at this task than he usually was, making him one of the first boys to finish getting ready.

As Kiel headed to the door, someone stepped in his way, blocking his path to the exit. It was the boy from earlier, Logan, who was also now dressed in normal clothes. In a hushed voice, he said, "Are you aware how bad drugs are for you? I get it, you're German. Drugs might be cool in your country, and they're popular in America. But I'm going to have to report you to the principal's office. It's illegal." He paused, his eyes shifting to the other few boys who were starting to walk into the room. "So where are you hiding them, anyway? You'd better get rid of them."

"What are you talking about?" Kiel asked, feeling only confusion. "Whatever you're talking about, I don't have it."

"It seems like you do," Logan responded, frowning. "Drugs are _not_ a joke. Millions of people die every year, many of them being teenagers!" He sighed loudly. "Whatever. You don't have to tell me where you've hidden them. I'll leave you alone once I tell the principal. Where'd you get them from, anyway? You're German! Did your host family give you some?"

"Seriously, I have no clue what you're talking about," Kiel whispered. "But if it makes you feel better, I'll pretend like I do! Yeah, I have drugs. I'm not sure what those are, but I've got them." He winked.

Logan smiled thinly. "Great. And now that I think about it, you should hand them over to the authorities unless you're throwing them out. They're terrible for your health." He walked over to the lockers that lined the wall. "See you at chemistry class. Or _not_."

". . . How do you know I have chemistry?"

"Because I'm in your class."

"Oh, right. I knew that," Kiel said, feeling slightly guilty that he hardly remembered even talking to this boy before. But he didn't care about that, because this boy was kind of a creep. He reminded him of Oliver Bines, honestly. What were drugs, anyway? And what did Logan want from Kiel?

Kiel forced a smile, then threw open the door and waltzed out into the hallway. He was so confused. What was going on? What were drugs, and how on Magisteria was he supposed to have them? He definitely didn't have whatever Logan was talking about. He didn't even know what they were.

This boy was obviously trying to get Kiel into trouble, but that method would never work. How could he get in trouble for something he never did? Kiel wasn't going to waste his time worrying about this or trying to learn what drugs were. There weren't any compelling reasons that came to mind, so he dropped the issue. It definitely wasn't something he wanted to get involved in.

And if Logan called the principal, so be it. That was the last of Kiel's worries anyway. He really couldn't care less about this entire situation, whatever was going on.

During chemistry class, Kiel spent the time learning about the periodic table and the elements that were written on it. He tapped his feet repeatedly against the floor, hiding his shaking hands underneath the desk. He tried his best to focus, but as always, his mind wandered to other things.

Science never failed to deeply confuse him, which made him appreciate the fact that he grew up on Magisteria instead of Quanterium. He could never imagine himself as Dr. Verity, who he was a clone of. Was that really who he would be in the future? Was his future set in stone, or could he change it now that Nobody had created pure possibility? Or maybe he wouldn't have a future to begin with, since he could disappear at any moment.

For the first time, Kiel stopped denying it for a second to look at the facts. The idea wasn't very encouraging at all, but it was a possible outcome that he might face, sooner rather than later. He hoped that if it _did_ happen, it would be much later. He was only fifteen years-old. He had years and years ahead of him, and he didn't want that to be taken from him. If he disappeared now, how would he save the fictional world from Nobody?

No, he _wouldn't_ disappear. He would never leave his friends, and he would never leave his home defenseless under any circumstances. He already had some things under control, so he knew he could defeat this problem. This was simply a malfunction, but it would pass in time. There was no way he'd disappear, right? He'd be fine!

He was Kiel Gnomenfoot, and he tackled everything life threw at him. That part of him would never change. Dr. Verity hadn't been able to beat him, and neither had Oliver Bines. Neither could a bomb that was going to destroy his entire world, as well as anyone who'd ever used magic. He was a survivor.

He would not disappear if he could do something about it, and he certainly wouldn't tell his friends, since it wasn't _that_ serious. He would fix this on his own, without any help. He'd find a way to stop himself from disappearing, somehow. He could do it. He believed that he could.

When the bell finally rang, Kiel jumped from his seat and grabbed his bag, placing the strap over his shoulder. As he walked out of the classroom and made his way to his final class of the day, something pegged at the back of his mind, but he couldn't remember what it was. What was he forgetting? Deciding that it didn't matter, Kiel walked the rest of the way to his next class and sat down.

He hadn't even taken out his notebook and pencil before a voice was heard over the loudspeaker, making everyone cringe. "Kiel Bauer, please report to the principal's office immediately."

Everyone turned to look at him. Kiel blinked, too shocked to say anything. He looked at the faces around him, checking for any sign that this was a joke, but they all stared back at him with serious expressions. Ah, okay. So this _wasn't_ a joke.

Flashing a wink and a grin at the class, Kiel stood up and confidently walked out of the room. Acting as if he was confident — even when he wasn't — seemed to always get him out of trouble. Of course, that'd been in the fictional world, but this would be no different. How threatening could a nonfictional person be? It wasn't like the principal was going to eat him.

Despite his confident facade, however, he found himself growing nervous as he neared the principal's office. What was the principal going to say, and would he be mad? What was he in trouble for, anyway? Was this about what Logan said? And if it was, what were drugs? Principal Dunlap seemed nice enough, and he'd helped Kiel get to his first class on his first day of school. Maybe it wasn't that serious.

Kiel let out a breath, telling himself to not be so nervous. He was a hero; he wasn't supposed to be nervous, and he definitely wasn't supposed to show it. The after-effects of the 5-Hour-Energy drink really weren't helping his attempts to seem calm. He couldn't even _pretend_ to be calm; his heart was racing, his entire body was still vibrating, and his head pounded. The only thing he could do was try to hide it.

He walked through the door of the principal's office, which was hanging open. Principal Dunlap was sitting at his desk, typing something on his computer. When he finished, he looked up at Kiel and folded his hands together. "Why don't you take a seat?"

"I'd rather stand," Kiel said.

The principal gestured to the comfy chair in front of his desk. "I'd rather you sit."

"Can I stand?"

"Sit. Down," he said in a low, warning tone. Kiel swallowed hard, then slowly lowered himself into the chair. He kept his eyes on the principal, who was staring at him in the same annoyed way that many adults had. "Do you know why you're here, Kiel?"

"I was hoping you'd tell _me_ ," Kiel said, frowning. "You don't know either?"

The principal clenched his jaw, somehow looking angrier. "No, I know why you're here. I guess I'll cut right to it, since you're not admitting anything. I've heard some disturbing news about you, which is a shame since you're our only German exchange student. I heard from an anonymous student that you're taking . . . drugs. Is this true? I mean, just looking at you I can tell you're not yourself. You're shaking all over. These are some signs of drug use. As we speak, some of our janitors are looking in your locker for drugs. And if you _are_ using drugs, we'll need to have a long talk about whether you are still allowed at this school or not."

* * *

 _Owen kicked open the heavy iron door of the temporary time prison, knocking over several guards in the process. It was dark enough that it made it hard to see, but that wasn't a problem for Owen, since he wore night vision glasses. He scanned the hallway that he'd entered, which was empty aside from the jail cells that lined the walls. He raced down the impossibly long hallway, glancing in the jail cells, which held prisoners individually._

 _Just as he was about to give up, his night vision picked up a bright pink from somewhere to the right. He grinned in triumph, tore his glasses off, then ran up to her jail cell. It was locked, but he wrote himself to have super strength, which gave him the ability to tear the barred door off its hinges. He tossed the door to the ground, then stepped inside, coming face to face with Kara._

 _"_ _Owen?" she said in disbelief, rubbing her eyes._

 _"_ _I'm here!" he shouted happily, smiling back at her. "Kara, you have no idea how long it took, but I've found you!"_

 _"_ _I can't believe it's you!" Kara said. A smile formed on her face, and she reached out to grab him by the shoulders, as if making sure it was truly him._

 _"_ _You can come to my world now," Owen said. "You can leave the time prison for good. You're free!"_

 _"_ _I can't believe it! Thank you, Owen! Thank you thank you thank you!" she exclaimed, looking just as happy. She wrapped her arms around him, and he did the same, pride swelling in his chest. He was finally playing the hero, and he'd rescued her from confinement. He didn't have to wonder if she was okay anymore, because now she was!_

Owen stopped writing. He sat at his computer, absently scratching his cat's stomach as he read over what he had written. _Ugh._ As far as writing went, his was still pretty terrible. Good thing that no one was here to read this except him. It'd be incredibly embarrassing if his mother ever found his stash of fan fiction he'd written over the years.

He glanced at Spike. "Think I'll ever see her again?"

The cat slightly shook his head, almost as if to say, _not like this_. Although Spike didn't actually say those words, he was right. The next time Owen saw her wouldn't be this way. It'd be different, but he didn't know how much.

He wondered if he'd even see Kara at all. He wasn't sure where he'd begin to look for her, given the fact that the time agents had taken her somewhere unknown. He hoped he'd be able to see her again someday, when he went back to the fictional world with Bethany and Kiel. He couldn't take it if he was left in suspense, wondering how she was doing and if she was missing him too. He needed to know if she was okay.

Suddenly, a thought popped in Owen's head. Last time he'd written a story, Nobody had appeared, saying that he was manipulating the lives of fictional people. Did that mean . . .

Owen brought his hand back to the keyboard and typed, _Owen Conners defeats Nobody. The fictional world is saved._

He lifted his eyes to the computer screen and waited with baited breath. Nothing happened, and not even a message was sent from the faceless man. Huh. Maybe it _hadn't_ worked? He started to turn away from the computer, but something caught his eye.

There were new words underneath what he'd typed. He gasped aloud, quickly leaning forward in his desk chair as he stared eagerly at the screen. Spike stopped what he was doing and scrambled off Owen's lap to hide underneath the bed, which wasn't unusual.

 _"_ _Nowen," said a boy with the same features as Owen. "I'm only going to tell you this once: don't come to the fictional world. You won't be able to stop Nobody's plans, whether you're here or not."_

". . . Fowen?" Owen whispered, barely able to conceal his shock, along with his growing horror. "Why _shouldn't_ I go to the fictional world? Give me _one_ good reason why I shouldn't. My friends are there, and all of the worlds are in danger! It's your world, too. You should be just as concerned."

 _"_ _Oh, I am," Fowen said. "That's why I'm telling you to stay away. The pure possibility is going to wipe out everything, me included. But Nobody promised he'd rewrite me, so I'm not worried about that part. You and your friends could try to stop Nobody, but it won't work. He knows that you've escaped from your book, and he knows that Bethany has been rejoined. Trust me, he's_ angry _. If you come here, you'll ruin everything, just like you always do. You can pass the message along to Bethany. She's going to get us all killed if she comes to the fictional world. You won't survive either."_

Owen sat back in his chair, registering this information. Fowen had lied to him many times before. How could he trust him? Fowen burned down his mother's beloved library, nearly drowned Bethany, and stole Kiel's magic. He would go great lengths to hurt his friends, and a person like that — fictional twin or not — just couldn't be trusted.

"I'm going to the fictional world," Owen decided. "You're not going to stop me _or_ my friends from going, not by threatening me here or in person. Trust me on that."

There was no response, maybe because he'd said all that he needed to. Owen waited a couple of minutes, his heart pounding as he watched the computer screen for any other messages. When nothing else happened, he highlighted the word document and pressed the delete button, erasing the conversation he'd had with Fowen along with his badly-written story.

Owen felt a little regretful about deleting the story with him and Kara, but he knew it was for the best. He didn't want to manipulate Kara in any way, and he'd prefer to reunite with her in real life instead of just in writing. Also, since Nobody could travel between stories, Owen didn't want him to interfere with anything else in his life. Who knew what Nobody would do now if he knew that Owen was writing stories about his friends?

He ran a hand through his tousled hair, still pretty shaken up by Fowen's message. He'd already been afraid to return to the fictional world, but now he was even more so. What did he mean by Bethany getting everyone killed? Would that really happen, or was that another lie? There was no way that could be true. They were going to save the fictional world from Nobody, not destroy it.

Owen let out a shaky breath, sliding out of his chair. Okay, that wasn't so bad. He talked to Fowen. Really, nothing terrible had happened aside from the grim warning he'd received. He hadn't been thrown back into a book, so that was good news. He could go back to having fun with Bethany and Kiel, and they'd come up with the perfect plan that would ensure they'd never do anything that Fowen said . . . hopefully.

He backed away from his desk, then glanced over at the alarm clock on his bedside table, which read 3:09 pm. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. The book club started at 3:45, and it always took a little while to get to Bethany's house by walking. Since she usually got home around 3:15, he always made sure to leave a bit early so he could reach her house at that time. He should've checked the time sooner!

He flew downstairs, not bothering to bring Bark Vader since he was in a hurry. He threw on his coat and yelled bye to his pets before running out the door. He had already ran halfway down the street before his arm starting cramping up in pain, and he had to stop. He gritted his teeth as pain shot through his arm, but there wasn't much he could do about it. The doctor had warned him not to run around too much, as that could ruin the healing process of his arm.

As he cradled his broken arm, a brilliant thought came to mind. He could use his time powers! Why hadn't he thought of it before?

Owen concentrated, speeding up time for himself. The world came to a halt, freezing everything from the previously-moving cars on the street to the birds in the sky. His heart beat faster and faster, hammering against his chest in a way that would've made anyone else become worried. He started walking again, taking his time now that he wasn't in a rush.

As he walked to Bethany's house, he felt the tiniest pressure in his chest. For some reason, the pressure grew as he continued walking, but not enough to be painful. He wondered what it was from. Did this have something to do with his time powers, or was it just heartburn? And _could_ he get heartburn, since he had a robotic heart? Was that possible?

Once he came around the corner and caught sight of Bethany's house in the distance, he released his hold on time. Immediately, the small amount of pressure on his chest went away. He sighed in relief, then walked the rest of the way to her house, knowing he now had more than enough time to make it there.

"Bethany!" Owen shouted once he'd reached the front door, rapping his knuckles soundly against it. "I'm here!"

The door swung open, and Bethany was there, her shoes untied and one half of her coat put on. "Sorry, I just got home," she explained, shrugging her coat on the rest of the way. "You won't believe what happened today. Kiel got called to the principal's office!"

" _What_?" Owen said, his mouth hanging open. He walked inside the house, closing the door behind him. "He did? Why?"

"That's the thing, I don't know," she said. "I haven't seen him since lunch. I hope it wasn't anything _too_ bad, but knowing Kiel, it could be anything. We'll have to ask him about it after we get back from the book club."

"Yeah," he said. "I wonder what he could've gotten in trouble for! Where is he now? Is he in detention or something?"

"Who knows." Bethany shrugged. He watched her tie her shoes the rest of the way, feeling more and more inclined to tell her what happened.

"Fowen contacted me!" Owen blurted out, unable to hold it in any longer.

She looked up, her eyes widening. "What? Are you joking? How did he — _how_ —"

"I don't really know," he said quickly. "I was, um, writing, and these sentences started appearing on the page. Fowen was talking to me through there."

"Well?" Bethany asked. When he said nothing else, she gave him a suspicious look. "C'mon, tell me! What did he say? Don't leave me in suspense, Owen Conners!"

" _This_ is why I didn't want to tell you." He groaned. "You might get mad, and even if you don't you're definitely not going to like this . . ."

"I don't care! This is important. Just tell me anyway!"

Owen frowned. "But it isn't good news. I know we've been taking a break and everything, and this is probably the last thing you'd want to hear. It's stuff about Nobody. I can always tell you later. I know it's been hard on you, not jumping into books for so long."

"Yes," she said. "It's been three years since I've jumped into one. Now come _on_ and tell me!"

"But —"

" _Owen_." She threw her hands up, clearly frustrated. "Just tell me already! You _have_ to tell me. I'm your best friend."

"Fine." He sighed. Great, she'd even used the "best friend" card on him. Every time she used it, it always worked. Unfortunately, she usually used it in situations that often got them into trouble.

With some reluctance, he gave her a summary of what Fowen had said. When he was finished, she stood there in silence, her brows furrowed. "I can't _believe_ Fowen. Who does he think he is, telling us not to go into the fictional world? He's a complete liar. And he makes up lies about me now, too? There's no way I'm listening to what he says. Of course we're going!"

"I thought the same exact thing," Owen told her. "But what do you think he meant by . . . us ruining the fictional world? That can't be true. We're going to save it, not destroy it."

Bethany nodded. "Exactly. We _are_ going to save it. Nobody is the one destroying it, not us. Fowen is just trying to scare us into not coming. He's on Nobody's side, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," he said, feeling a little uncomfortable at the thought of his fictional twin being on Nobody's side. When he'd first met Fowen, Owen thought he was so cool. As it turned out, he was a villain, and he only cared about making himself look good. "What if he _is_ right, though?"

"He isn't," Bethany said, rolling her eyes. "Don't listen to him. He'll do anything to foil our plans. We're going to be fine as long as we make a good plan, which we'll definitely have to. And it isn't like we have to make one right away."

Owen smiled, feeling more hopeful at her words. "Okay, yeah! We _will_ be fine." He checked his watch. "Oh, should we get going? The walk usually takes a good thirty minutes."

"Yeah, we probably should," Bethany said, flashing Owen a smile as she grabbed _The Hobbit_ from a nearby table. She opened the front door, ushering him outside. "It doesn't really matter if we're late, though. We're not on a strict schedule." He walked through the door, and she locked it before looking back at him. "You excited for the book club meeting?"

"More than I can even say," Owen said in a quiet voice, holding his own book close.

His nerves about Fowen faded away, and he focused on today instead of what could happen in the future. All of that stuff he said most likely wasn't even true, except for the part about Nobody being angry. Just like Bethany had said, Fowen was a liar. He was only trying to scare them so they wouldn't go to the fictional world. But that would never happen, because Owen and his friends were completely set on getting rid of the faceless man. He loved books too much to ever let the fictional world fade away, and a message from his evil fictional twin wasn't going to stop that.

* * *

On weekdays, the book club went from 3:45 to 4:20, making it nearly an hour long. While the book club meetings used to be somewhat entertaining, they were now much better, since Owen was here. Normally, Bethany would've gone straight to the library once her book club was over, where she'd do homework before she went home to eat dinner. This week was different since Owen was with her.

Instead of going to the library, they went to Bethany's house, where Kiel would meet them shortly after. For as long as they were able, they spent time simply enjoying each other's company and doing fun activities. As it turned out, she didn't need to only jump into books to enjoy herself. Their hangouts led to many occurrences of Bethany doing homework late at night, but she didn't really care. She got to hang out with her best friends all the time, and that was much better than homework.

When Kiel opened the door fifteen minutes after Owen and Bethany had arrived at her house, the two of them rushed to their friend's side.

Bethany fired question after question, her voice rising after each one. "Are you okay? What happened? Why'd you get called to the principal's office, and what did you do?"

"Good to see you too," Kiel said, smiling at her. "The principal thought I was hiding drugs, whatever _those_ are. Do you know what they are?"

Owen grinned. "Wait, are you _kidding_? The principal thought you were hiding drugs? Wow." He struggled to hold in his laughter. Bethany crossed her arms, feeling vaguely annoyed at his reaction while Kiel just stared in confusion.

"Is anyone going to tell me what drugs are?" Kiel asked with an annoyed expression, setting his bag on the ground. "Are they bad?"

"They're definitely bad," Bethany told him. "It's hard to explain, but they can have . . . certain effects on your body. We had to learn about them in health class. Probably to scare everyone enough that they wouldn't do it." She looked at him curiously, noticing the way he clenched and unclenched his fists. Had he always done that?

Before she could ask him, he nodded, laughing lightly. "Oh, okay. I had no clue what they were talking about."

"Why did the school think you had drugs, then?" Owen asked. "Did they find some and think it was yours?"

Kiel shrugged. "I don't know. This kid from my school thought I had some, so he told the principal. Jokes on him, because there weren't any drugs to be found and I didn't get into any trouble."

Bethany grinned. "Remind me to throw that kid into a math book if I ever see him."

He winked. "Sure thing."

They traveled over to the living room, where they spent the rest of the afternoon talking. Bethany and Owen had updated Kiel on what they'd heard from Fowen, which seemed to make the boy magician as uncomfortable as Bethany and Owen had been. After discussing that for a while, they'd moved on to other topics. The TV was playing some crime show in the background, which they only half-payed attention to. By dinnertime, it was time for Owen to go home, since his mother tended to arrive home a few hours after he got back.

"Bye, Owen!" Bethany waved him off, Kiel standing beside her. "Don't do anything too crazy."

Owen laughed, stepping out of the house. "I won't. See you guys!"

"Bye!" Kiel said, smiling as they watched their friend leave. When the door closed, Kiel grabbed his own coat from where it hung in the laundry room. She noticed that his hands were shaking slightly as he buttoned it up. He gave her a smile. "I guess that's my cue. See you at school, book-girl. Have a good night!"

Bethany smiled. "You too."

She gave him a quick hug, then followed him out to the doorway. Once he put on his shoes, he walked outside into the cold air. The sky was already starting to darken, but not by much. She didn't know why he chose to walk home all the time when he could easily use magic to teleport there. It didn't make much sense.

He clambered down the porch steps and waved lazily at her before making his way across the lawn. She watched him for a second longer, then stepped back inside, shutting the door behind her. A sick feeling entered her gut, and she frowned. As if pulled by some unseen force, she moved to the window and rubbed her palm against the glass, clearing the fog away. What she saw made her mouth go dry.

Kiel was walking in the middle of the street, his back facing her. Without warning, his legs buckled, and his body swayed to the side. He collapsed to the ground. Bethany couldn't tell if she had screamed or not. She was utterly frozen, cold fear going through her veins as she stared at the boy magician lying in the street. Panic bubbled to the surface, but for once she was rooted to the ground, too shocked to move.

". . . Kiel?" she whispered.

* * *

Owen took the familiar trip from Bethany's house to his, his body shaking as small gusts of cold wind blew into him. He barely remembered the walk home since he was so deep in his thoughts. This afternoon, the book club had been joyous as always. They'd spent the hour-long meeting talking about _The_ _Hobbit_ , since they were already several chapters in. It brought no stress to Owen; he loved any chance he got to talk about books, and he didn't need to read the book since he'd already read it twice.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something off going on. He noticed that Kiel was acting slightly different than normal, but he couldn't decipher why. Maybe it was all in his head, since he had a huge imagination. He wasn't the most observant person, so seeing details about others weren't his strong suite. Still, he suspected there might be something deeper going on, something he wasn't seeing.

Before he knew it, he was back in his neighborhood. The sky was beginning to fade into a twilight color, resembling the color of Doc Twilight's cape. Owen marched up to his house, then saw something that made his eyes go wide.

His mother's car was in the driveway.

Uh oh. Owen quickly looked around before crouching low and sprinting to the front door, his shoes squeaking against the damp ground. He turned the doorknob as quietly as he could and stepped inside. Bark Vader's persistent barking greeted him at the door, and he put a finger to his lips, his heart racing. " _Vadie!_ _Shh!_ "

He held his breath and put his hands over the dog's snout, finally managing to calm her down enough that she stopped barking. He threw a glance down the hallway, which hadn't been as bright the last time he'd been here. From the living room, he heard that the TV was on, playing some sort of comedy show.

Owen kicked off his shoes before tiptoeing up the stairs, avoiding the creaky stair out of habit. Ducking low like a ninja, he looked left and right, surveying the hallway. It was dark, which gave him an indication that his mother wouldn't be up here. If she was, he'd never see the sun again. He crept over to his room and opened the door at a snail's pace before walking inside. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it, his eyes fluttering closed for a moment. He put a hand over his heart, which was pounding like crazy. Whew!

"What do you think you're doing?" demanded a voice, and Owen screamed, opening his eyes to see his mother sitting in his desk chair. She looked furious. "Where have you _been_ , Owen? You think you can just leave the house without my permission?" She scoffed. "I've been worried enough about you as it is. You think _I_ want to come home to see you're not there? You've broken the _one_ rule I gave you, Owen. Only one rule!"

Owen winced. He started talking a mile a minute, and his apology rolled out of his mouth. "I'm sorry! Bethany made me and I wanted to go to the book club but I knew you'd never let me so I went anyway and now I know I shouldn't have done that but I still kept going to the meetings and I also went over her house a few times without asking you, but trust me it was her and Kiel's idea in the first place!"

His mother sucked in a gasp. "You went to . . . _a_ _book_ _club_?!"

Owen smiled guiltily, completely filled with dread and shame and regret all at once. His face burned as his mother stared at him, a deep scowl on her face. "I'm very disappointed in your actions. I can't _believe_ you! I can't take off work to watch you twenty-four-seven!"

"I'm sorry, you don't have to —"

"You can't be trusted to stay home by yourself," she said. "As it seems that you have no respect for me either, I'm going to have to punish you. From now on, you're going to be working at the library from the early afternoons to late at night. You can't be sneaking off anymore, and if you want to see your friends then you need to ask _me_ first. Do you understand?"

He nodded several times, his head cast low in embarrassment. "Good," she said with a sigh, some of her anger fading. Now, she only looked at him with a deep disappointment in her eyes, which made Owen suddenly want to cry. "Just . . . get yourself ready for dinner. While you're doing that, I want you to think long and hard about your actions, and the consequences that come with them. I hope you'll act like my son again by the time dinners ready."

* * *

 _"_ _You are my hometown, let there be no town. We understood it's where I should be now . . ."_


	20. Dragon Breath

_**Africa (by Toto)**_

 _"_ _It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you. There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do . . ."_

* * *

For a moment, there was utter silence.

Seeing Kiel Gnomenfoot laying there made Bethany sick to her stomach, and she couldn't say anything. For a beat, she could only stare at her friend, her eyes wide with fear. She couldn't hear anything aside from the blood pounding in her ears. Her heart was beating hard and fast against her chest, but she barely noticed it. Staring at him laying right there, she forgot how to breathe. There was ice in her veins, and her lungs seemed to have stopped working.

Breaking out of her reverie, she finally got her brain to work properly and forced her legs into action. Her movements felt as though they were doused in honey as she slowly opened the door. Her brain caught up with the rest of her a second too late, and before she knew it, she was sprinting towards Kiel. Once she made it to the street, she skidded to a halt and sunk to her knees, quickly lifting his head and placing it in her lap.

"Kiel!" she shouted, frantically shaking him by the shoulders. When his eyes didn't open right away, she started to hyperventilate. She'd had panic attacks before, usually when her mother had almost found all her hidden books beneath her bed. But this was entirely different. "Kiel, wake up! _Wake up_!"

Kiel's eyes slowly started to flutter open, and Bethany heaved a sigh of relief. She brought her hand to his face, checking for any sign of a fever. Weirdly, he was freezing cold. The only indication that he might be sick was the fact that he was shaking uncontrollably. What was going on? Why had he fainted? Was he okay?

"Oh, hey, Beth," Kiel whispered in a weak voice, his face much paler than usual. "How did I end up on the ground?"

She glared at him. "You just fainted, Kiel."

"Did I?" He tried to sit up, only for his eyes to go wide, and he fell back onto her lap. "I seem to be very dizzy for some reason. I must've been using magic. I don't remember." He smiled a little, but the clear fear in his eyes gave him away. "Remember how I always get tired after a huge spell in your world? I'm sure I used one. I told you I'm impressive. Now I'm impressive _and_ tired. Magic sure is exhausting!"

"You've been tired for the past week. I don't think it's your magic," Bethany said quietly. "And you don't either, do you."

"No," he whispered, swallowing hard. "It was only my magic. It was a powerful spell, which is saying something for _me_ , since I'm a powerful magician, and I —"

"Don't try to deny it," she snapped. "I didn't see you use any magic. You almost died in the middle of the street. That's not normal! We need to talk about this. Just tell me what —" She made a frustrated noise. "Just . . . please tell me what's been going on."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Nothing? Really, is _that_ why you're laying on the ground right now?" He lifted his gaze to the sky, not responding. She bit her lip, anger and fear and confusion swirling in her. "How long have you been hiding this, whatever 'this' is?"

"Beth, can we please not talk about it —"

" _How long_?"

He let out a long sigh before looking back at her, a defeated expression on his face. "One week." It was then that she saw through his facade. He lacked the light in his eyes, and it made her heart hurt at the sight of him like this. He probably had never wanted her — or Owen — to see him this way.

"One week," Bethany repeated. "Okay. So what is it? What's so bad that it made you faint?"

"It's nothing. You don't need to worry about me," Kiel said weakly, as if that offered any explanation to what was going on with him. His voice was barely a whisper as he stared up at her, tilting his head in her lap.

"Oh, I can worry all I want," Bethany said in a low voice, leaning towards him. "You have no _idea_ how much more I can worry about."

He cracked a smile, a real one. "I don't doubt that." He yawned, then started to blink very slowly, somehow looking more exhausted than before. "I'm just tired, that's all . . ."

"I'm still waiting for that explanation," she said. "Do you want me to slap you?"

Kiel slowly shook his head, his eyes fluttering closed. His long, dark lashes brushed against his pale face, and he was breathing softly, which made him look like some kind of angel. Wait, _what_? Bethany was very glad she hadn't said that aloud. What was she thinking? Kiel wasn't — she didn't —

Before she could acknowledge her own confusing thoughts, she came to her senses and forcefully made contact with the side of Kiel's cheek. His eyes flew open, and he lifted his hand to his face. " _Ow!_ You can't just _slap_ me like that."

"Feel better?"

"No. I'm still tired. Need . . . sleep." His eyes started to close again, and Bethany soundly smacked her hands together in front of his face.

He groaned. "You really _are_ pure evil, aren't you. Stop making loud noises."

"No way. Not until you wake up, German boy."

He laughed softly. "Ha. I don't miss pretending to be that."

"You're _still_ pretending to be that," Bethany reminded him with a smile of her own, but she quickly replaced it with a serious look. She raised her eyebrows, giving him a pointed look as she waited for him to talk first.

He gathered himself for more than a few seconds, looking uncomfortable with the entire situation. He took a deep breath, looking almost in pain as he said his next words. "I need . . . _help_. I guess I've needed it for a while, but I thought I could handle things on my own. I can't really hide it anymore, can I? That didn't really work out for me."

"Kiel Gnomenfoot, are you asking _me_ for help?" Bethany tried to seem nonchalant but couldn't fight the grin off her face.

Kiel rolled his eyes. "What, I'm not allowed to?"

"No, you're allowed to. I'm just not used to it." She slid her knees out from under his head, gently setting him on the pavement. "Let's get you up. We can go to my house, I'll get you some water, and then you can tell me everything."

"Sounds good to me," he muttered, not looking too happy with it but accepted it nonetheless. She helped him to his feet. Once he was standing, he swayed like he was about to faint again. Bethany quickly grabbed his arm, steadying him. He looked completely winded.

"Come on," she said gently, both arms wrapped around him as she struggled to hold him in place. "My house is right across the street. Think you can make it?"

"I can do anything," he shot back, sounding almost angry. He started to walk forward but stumbled, nearly falling to the ground again.

Bethany hooked her arm around his waist, grunting from the effort. He never looked heavy before, but it was different when you were actually trying to _carry_ someone. "Slow down. This isn't a race. You need to take your time, Kiel. You're super weak right now."

"No I'm not."

"Fine." She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just keep walking." When he tried walking too abruptly again, she said, " _Slowly_."

They crept towards her house, Kiel leaning against her. It took a while, but they made it to the front door without another incident. Since the door was still hanging open, Bethany walked straight through, still holding tightly onto Kiel. She maneuvered around the living room, making sure not to accidentally bump into anything before lowering him to the couch, where he sat down. He leaned his head back against the pillows, looking utterly exhausted.

"I'm going to get you some water," she said once he was settled. She walked into the dark kitchen and flicked on the light. As she grabbed a cup and began filling it up, her mind ran in circles. Something terrible was happening to Kiel, and he'd obviously been hiding it. What _had_ he been hiding, anyway? She hoped there was something she could do to help him. He looked barely alive right now.

Once she was done getting the water ready, she drifted back into the living room and held the cup in front of Kiel's face. "Here. I got you some water."

He opened his eyes. "Thanks." He took the cup from her, his hand trembling as he raised it to his lips. When he was done, he handed it back to her, and she set it on the table in front of the couch.

Bethany took a seat beside him, propping her legs up and placing her hands on her knees. "What's going on?" she asked, her breath catching in her throat.

He averted his gaze, staring at the ground as he talked. "It kind of all started on the night we got Owen back. I started feeling tired for no reason, and my . . ." He sighed. "My belt — the one that holds some of my spells and other magical items — disappeared."

"What do you mean 'disappeared'?" she asked, frowning.

"It was like magic. One second, it was there. And the next, it wasn't. At first I had no idea what was happening. But then I started to get tired . . . _really_ tired. I constantly felt like I'd run a marathon, and I started to feel weak. That's why I turned to, um, _nonfictional_ things that could help me. You know, to gain energy since I had none."

Bethany gulped. "What kind of nonfictional things?"

"I found this drink called 5-Hour-Energy at the CVS store, and —"

Her mouth dropped open. "You went to _CVS_? When? And how did you find that drink? That could be really bad for you, Kiel!"

He brushed her off. "I went sometime last week. I'm not sure when. Anyways, I started drinking this 5-Hour-Energy drink. It helped a lot with my energy, but I still felt . . . _off_. I thought it would fix things, but it didn't. My stuff kept disappearing —"

"Wait, _more_ of your things disappeared?" Bethany felt shocked. "What else?"

"One of my wand-knives, as well as my cape," he replied, his face pained. "If all of my things keep disappearing . . . I think that _I_ might disappear, too, since I'm fictional."

"Why did you wait so long to tell me?" she asked, her voice quiet.

He looked down. "I didn't want to worry anyone. We were having such a fun time this week, and the last thing I wanted to do was ruin everyone's mood. I didn't want to drag anyone else into my problems. Like I said, I thought I could handle it."

"But you couldn't," she pointed out.

He glared at her. "But I _thought_ I could."

"Yeah, you _thought_. It's pretty clear that you couldn't do it all on your own, though. Not for something this dangerous."

"Normally, I can handle anything that life throws at me, and I figured I could handle this too. I realize now that my thinking was probably narrow, and I _do_ need help. I won't try to deny it." He sighed. "But really, I thought I could fix it. I tried so many ways to solve it, and they just didn't work. I didn't think I'd have to tell you or Owen. I thought it'd be fixed by now, and I certainly didn't think it'd get worse." When she continued to stare fearfully at him, he quickly added, "But don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks."

"It looks pretty bad to me!" she exclaimed, furrowing her eyebrows. "I knew there was something going on with you, but I didn't know what it was. You aren't yourself anymore. I bet this has something to do with Nobody or the fictional world. I just don't understand . . . why are your things disappearing? You've been in my world before and this has never happened. I don't fully understand Nobody's plans, but I figured the fictional world would be fine for a short while, since it clearly hasn't been destroyed yet. Is there something worse going on?"

He nodded. "I think so. Remember the pure possibility I told you about? That's Nobody's big plan to take over the fictional world. I learned about it when I was back in Magisteria, and when Nobody kidnapped me. The pure possibility is supposed to engulf the entire fictional world, swallow it up whole. He thought that would mean the universe could start fresh, without any interference from nonfictional people." Kiel wrinkled his nose. "I guess that means the fictional world is weakening from it over time, and since _I'm_ separated from my own world . . . it's taking a toll on me, too. I don't know how much longer I have. I don't know how to stop this."

What had she been thinking? She'd been so clueless this whole time. She thought taking a break would give her friends some peace, but it did the opposite for Kiel. By delaying their trip into the fictional world, she'd unknowingly wasted more time of Kiel's precious life. She should've been more responsible when she noticed something was wrong. He could've disappeared and she wouldn't have even known it!

"We have to get you back to the fictional world," Bethany decided, firmly nodding her head. "That's how we can save you. Being here in the nonfictional world will only make things worse. It might not be for a few days — not until we know what we're doing — but I'm sure I can find some fictional medicine that'll hold you off until then. I'm not going to let you _die."_

"Trust me, I don't plan on it," he said, winking at her. "It's gonna take a lot to get rid of me. I'm sticking around for as long as I can, and some pure possibility isn't going to stop me from fighting. I'm not going anywhere, and I'm definitely not going to miss a fight against Nobody. I'm long overdue for one."

She laughed a little. "Me too. I've wanted to punch him in the face for a week now. Could I even punch him in the face if he technically doesn't have one?"

He snorted. "I guess you could. I never really thought of it before." His smile faded, and he regarded her seriously. "Just . . . please don't tell Owen about this, okay? I want to be the one to tell him."

"You can't expect me to keep this a secret," Bethany said, shaking her head. "He's our best friend, and he probably knows more solutions than I do. Your situation is _huge_ , Kiel. Your life is at stake here."

"I'm going to tell him soon," Kiel said, sighing again. "Honestly, I don't know how I'll do it. Owen thinks of me as a brother, you know? I think of him the same way, and I don't want to upset him."

"He won't be any more upset than I am," she told him. "But fine, I won't tell him."

He smiled, looking relieved. "Thank you. In the meantime, do you know of anything that might help?"

"I'll have to look through the library tomorrow," she said. "I don't have anything right now, aside from the books that are hidden under my bed. But none of them include anything about medicine. I'll find some books tomorrow that can help you. It might only be a temporary solution, but I plan on only delaying this a day or two. Maybe it can even stop you from disappearing."

"Great." He sat up a little straighter, more color in his face now that he'd drunken water. "The more renewed I'll feel, the better."

She smiled, feeling a small wash of relief that he sounded like himself again. Despite this, her heart continued to pound from fear. Nothing would be solved by talking. She needed to _do_ something, and that something would be to go to the fictional world, whether she wanted to or not. Kiel's life depended on it. The rest of the fictional world depended on it. They couldn't delay this fight against Nobody any longer, not with him causing chaos to all of the fictional people. Their time was up. She had to do this immediately before Kiel got worse.

"I'm sorry we held off from jumping into books," Bethany began. "I owe you an apology."

"Oh, you don't have to apologize —"

"But it's my fault for all of this happening in the first place," she retorted. "I wish I'd known about your situation sooner, and then I could've helped you —"

"Beth, it's not your fault. Really, it's _my_ fault."

She gritted her teeth. "No it's not."

"It is!" Kiel protested. "I should've talked to you and Owen about it before I tried solving it myself."

"But it's still my fault for deciding we should take a break. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed —"

"This has nothing to do with you. It has to do with me being fictional and not owning up to my mistakes." He groaned. "Seriously, it isn't your fault."

"How would _you_ know that?"

"Can we please no argue about this? We can easily talk about this in a much calmer way."

Bethany nodded in agreement, letting out a long breath. He was right; getting angry and arguing wouldn't solve anything. "I thought it would help you and Owen — me included — to have some isolation from books. After everything that happened, especially to Owen. I guess I just wasn't acting serious enough, and I thought the fictional world would be okay for a week or two. But I know now that it was the wrong thing to do. It's time to go back to the fictional world before another bad thing happens."

He smiled, the tension in his body relaxing. "That sounds great. I've been wanting to go back for a while now, but I didn't think you or Owen would want to. I'm a bit rusty on my fighting skills, so once I get that medicine I'll need to practice that." He did a little shrug. "I don't think I'll be _that_ rusty, but I haven't fought with magic in a while. I'm starting to get worried I'm not as impressive as I used to be."

"Maybe I could teach you some signature Twilight moves," Bethany offered. "If you happen to lose your magic again, there's a chance you'll be defenseless in a fight."

"Hey, I'm not totally useless," he said, winking at her. "I know how to throw a good punch. I couldn't beat Oliver Bines in a fistfight, but I'm still great at punching. You should ask Dr. Verity. I've beat him several times, and I plan on beating every other villain once my strength is restored. Nobody most importantly."

He glanced at the wall, then back at her. "As amazing as I am, I'll still need your help with this, of course. As I've said many times already."

She raised her eyebrows, giving him a sarcastic look. "Are you sure you have no issues with letting someone else be the hero? You're Kiel Gnomenfoot. This is probably hard for you, asking _me_ for help."

"I've got zero problems with that," he said quietly. "It's about time I've accepted help from someone else. I've gotten used to taking care of myself, and that's not going to work as well anymore. Plus, I think you owe me one after I came here to rejoin you. It's only fair that we're even." Before she could respond, he lifted his hand and touched her cheek, gently brushing his hand against it for a moment.

Bethany froze, heat rising to her face as she stared at him dumbly. She didn't know what to do. For some reason, she didn't want him to pull away. She could only stare at him, mesmerized as he slid his fingers across her cheek. His purple eyes seemed to sparkle in the darkening room, capturing her attention and making her unable to look away. When he dropped his hand a few seconds later, he was smiling, almost smugly. She blushed, unable to stop her own smile from spreading as she quickly averted her gaze to the floor. _Oh_.

"Sorry," Kiel murmured, as if realizing what he'd just done for the first time. He slid a bit farther away from her. "I don't know why I did that."

"Um, it's okay," she said, trying to ignore the way her stomach did somersaults. Her face was on _fire_.

She quickly stood from the couch, clearing her throat. "Do you want anything to eat? I have a bunch of leftover food in the fridge, since I'm always eating dinner at home and my mom doesn't get home until late at night."

"Okay," he whispered, still looking tired from the whole ordeal he'd just gone through.

Without responding, Bethany ran over to the kitchen and took out a few slices of bread to make sandwiches, as well as some pasta that her mother had made last weekend. She had never cooked anything before besides the occasional pancake or toast, but that wasn't very efficient for dinner. She felt glad that the fridge was at least filled with food, or else she wouldn't have so many options to chose from.

Not knowing what Kiel liked, Bethany took out an assortment of toppings for the bread, such as peanut butter and jelly, and different lunch meats. After digging through the fridge's contents for a while, she found some vegetables that could be put into a salad, and mixed that into a bowl. After heating up the pasta in the microwave and getting the rest of the dishes ready, she put everything on the table.

"Kiel! I have the food ready!" she shouted, looking down at her handiwork with a small sense of pride. Although she hadn't cooked anything, it was the most decent-looking meal she'd made, which was saying something. She sometimes wished that her mother would come home early more often, only because she wanted cooked food, not food that had been stocked in the fridge for days.

As she poured herself a cup of water, Kiel trudged into the kitchen, taking slow movements but looking considerably better than before. He sank into a chair, his eyes scanning the assortment of food on the table. "Wow, that's impressive! You made all of this just now?"

She chuckled, shaking her head. "No. My mom made the pasta and bought all of the groceries. I got it from the fridge."

"Oh, cool." He grinned, then dished some pasta and salad onto his plate. Bethany took a seat beside him and began eating in silence, her thoughts racing with everything that had happened. She watched him out of the corner of her eye, just in case he happened to faint again. For once, neither of them said a word throughout the entire meal.

Bethany was consumed by her thoughts, all of which were nerve-wracking. The fictional world was at the centerpiece of her mind. She felt so ashamed that she hadn't realized the severity of the situation. Why had she assumed they'd have time to relax? It'd been a stupid idea. It was clear that the fictional world was going to die, and so would Kiel if he stayed here.

She should've gone with her gut feeling, which was to jump straight into the fictional world and punch Nobody in his faceless head without a second thought. It would be dangerous, but she wouldn't have cared as long as it saved her friends' lives. But there was still a nagging voice in her head, telling her that this would all be impossible. And maybe it was. Maybe it was crazy to think that she and her friends could defeat the most powerful villain they'd ever come across.

Worries and endless unanswered questions filled her head, enough to form a small headache. What if Kiel didn't get better? What if they were too late to stop Nobody? What if she couldn't save the fictional world? What if worse happened to Owen? What could Bethany do to fix everything?

She knew that Owen would want to help save the fictional world; that was who he was. He'd never stay behind for safety's sake. That was another thing that worried her. Owen had been through so much pain when he was in the fictional world, and all she wanted was for him to have a break. He didn't deserve bad news. He deserved to be safe, not surrounded by danger.

He also had a broken arm, so wouldn't facing a villain be the _last_ thing he should do? He needed to stay safe, but she knew he'd never stay in the nonfictional world. He'd go with them, even if he was afraid. She _knew_ he'd be scared, but he'd go anyway. No matter what, Owen would never abandon his friends or the fictional world like that. She wouldn't expect anything less out of her wonderful best friend.

She was determined to set things right, starting now. There was no way she could let Kiel disappear. They'd figure a plan out together, and they would solve this. If possible, she would keep her friends safe at all costs. That was the most important thing. Both Owen and Kiel had gone through a lot, and she hadn't been able to help them. But now, she could. She was going to save Kiel, and then they'd save the world.

"You okay?" Kiel asked in a soft voice, momentarily placing his fork down.

She blinked. She hadn't realized how lost in thought she'd gotten. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

"Why are you worrying so much? Everything's going to be okay."

"Why am I —" she repeated, then scowled. "I'm not worried. I'm just thinking!"

He chuckled. "I already know you're worrying, and I also already told you that there's no way I'm going to let myself disappear. We have a solid plan for letting that _not_ happen. And if _that_ works, then everything else will work, too. We're going to tell Owen about this, go back to the fictional world, and have some fun while we kick Nobody's butt."

In spite of herself, she smiled. "You really think that? You're telling me that you aren't worried about _anything_? Almost an hour ago you had just fainted. That seems to be something worth worrying about."

"I mean, yeah." He shrugged. "I am . . . concerned about that. I have been for a while. But now that I know we're going to find a solution for it, I'm not as worried. It helps to embrace life's challenges and let life take you wherever it does. I have a good feeling about this."

Her smile grew, and she turned back to her food, picking up half-eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich and taking a bite out of it. For the rest of dinner, she milled over his words. As reckless as he tended to be, he always had great advice. Not that she'd ever admit it to him, since he had a huge ego, but she knew it was true.

More than anything, she wished she could simply toss her worries aside and live life without thinking. She was so used to holding herself back because she was too afraid, and she didn't want to do that anymore. That was how she lived when she was nonfictional; introverted, constantly holding herself back, and skeptical.

Her fictional self had been very different, and although she embraced both halves of her, it was the side of her that she preferred to be more like. Being fictional led her to do reckless things, but at least she was having fun and not worried about responsibilities. Starting now, she'd do more of that. She would try to stop holding herself back when she was fearful, if that was even possible. She would handle her responsibilities _and_ save the world, Kiel included.

No one would be disappointed in her anymore once this was all over. Especially Owen. She didn't want her best friend to suffer anymore. After they were done defeating Nobody, she would make everything up to him, _everything_. She would make sure of that.

* * *

Owen woke up in a cold sweat, his hair slicked to his forehead. He was panting, and it took his eyes a moment to adjust to his surroundings. The dream — no, _nightmare_ — had seemed so real. Nightmares filled his head nearly every night, bringing images of dinosaurs trying to eat him and evil dinosaur hunting instructors tasering him. The one tonight had ended with Kara being taken away by the time agents.

He sucked in air, wishing these painful memories would stop running through his head. He was completely fine during the day; it was only at night when he was vulnerable, and the nightmares got to him. So far, he'd had four nightmares over the past week, all of which had woken him in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, tonight was no exception.

It was hard to get those images out of his head, but luckily, he'd never have to go back there again. When he reminded himself that, it always made him feel considerably better. He was safe, now. And when he went back to the fictional world, he wouldn't be locked in the time prison again. He'd be with his friends, and they'd be having an adventure together. It wouldn't be anything terrible, aside from the facing Nobody part.

He pushed the covers off of him and sat up, leaning his head against the frame of the bed. Bark Vader was on the floor beside his bed, apparently asleep. He glanced at the alarm clock to his right, which read 2:37 am. He could try going back to sleep right now, but he'd rather stay awake for a while until he was calmer.

During the entirety of dinner, his mother had practically ignored him, not seeming too happy. He didn't blame her for feeling that way. He was ashamed of what he'd done, and he knew he never should've snuck out in the first place. The good part was: he'd get to work in the library again. He wasn't sure if his mother would allow him to see Bethany or Kiel anymore, but at least he could go there on his own free will.

It was the one place he'd been dying to go to . . . now that he could, he felt relieved. Even if it _was_ for punishment purposes, he felt optimistic again. Sure, he couldn't go to the book club anymore, and he probably couldn't go over Bethany's house for a while, but he could now go to the library, which had always been his second home. Even though his mother was angry at him still, it was a relief to know that he could go to the library without sneaking out.

Owen leaned over and turned on his lamp, illuminating the room with a soft glow. After having several of these episodes, it helped to turn on the light, just to remind himself that he was in his own room. Grabbing the X-Men comic book he'd been reading, he started to flip through it.

Comic books — as well as regular novels — never failed to comfort him. He loved reading about superheroes and the difficulties they'd gone through. In a way, it boosted his confidence to know that these heroes had suffered too. Not that he could ever be compared to amazing superheroes such as Spider-Man or Captain America or Iron Man. They were _too_ amazing, and they set high expectations that Owen could never reach.

He was only a normal boy, and they were heroes who had saved the world countless times. What had he done? Nothing, besides getting himself nearly killed and failing to stop Nobody when he had the chance. Sometimes he just felt so useless. What could he do to contribute saving the fictional world? He wasn't sure how much help he'd be. He only had his time powers, but how good could those be in a fight?

He saw the looks of concern Bethany and Kiel gave him whenever his arm started to hurt, as if he were something fragile. It made him feel even worse about everything, because that meant they were worried about him. That thought made him feel a bit queasy. With his broken arm and whatnot, he didn't want to be a burden to them. He only wanted to be helpful, and he wanted to be a hero for once. Was that too much to ask?

This was the problem. Bethany and Kiel had rescued _him_ , not the other way around. Owen was just a sidekick, maybe not even that. Unlike some sidekicks, though, he would never have his own comic book. If he did, it'd just be about him getting into trouble and Bethany saving him. That was exactly what had happened when he'd been in _Pick The Plot_.

It was an endless cycle of this. Every time they were in danger, Owen had to be saved by someone. Well, that wasn't completely true. He'd saved Bethany from drowning, although Kiel had been helping him. When he was in the time agency, he had helped Kara out many times, but that couldn't exactly be called "saving". He wanted to be the hero that everyone looked up to, just like he looked up to Kiel. He wanted his friends to feel proud of him, and he wanted Charm to look at him with awe instead of disgust.

After thirty minutes more of reading the comic book, Owen felt much more relaxed, and his eyelids had even started to droop. Taking this as a good sign, he tossed the comic book onto his bedside table and flicked off the lamp. Nestling his head back on the pillow, he rolled onto his side, staring out the window at the full moon that hung in the sky. There was something weirdly calming about staring at the moon at night.

It felt nice to know that somewhere, in the fictional world and in some other timeline, Charm might be looking at the same moon. He missed her a lot. They hadn't exactly left on the best of terms, since she believed he was Kiel Gnomenfoot.

He didn't know how he'd explain to her his true identity. He figured he'd have to eventually, once she saw him and Kiel together and realized that Owen was a separate person. She'd probably get mad, too. But he couldn't live with himself if he kept pretending he was Kiel. As much as he wanted to be like the boy magician, it would never be possible. It made him incredibly nervous to think about it, but he had to tell Charm the truth. He cared too much about her to hide something like that.

His thoughts shifted to another girl, who he'd just met last week but had managed to create such a lasting impact on him. What if Kara was looking at the moon too, just like he was? Unless she didn't have a window. But maybe, hypothetically, she was. Maybe she was bored out of her mind, and maybe she was thinking about Owen and regretting letting herself get captured by the time agents.

Once again, he wondered if she was okay. He hoped she wasn't _too_ lonely, and at least wouldn't be suffering. He didn't know much about her, but she was his friend, and she didn't deserve to be locked up in another time prison. No one deserved that, except maybe Fowen and Nobody. The idea of possibly rescuing Kara kept him hopeful, although it seemed downright crazy. He wouldn't even know where to look for her.

He closed his eyes, shutting off the remaining light in the room. In a quiet voice, he whispered, "If you're out there, I'll get you out of that prison, Kara. I'm pretty sure you can't hear me saying this, but if you can . . . I hope you're okay." He sighed. "I don't know . . . I had a bad day today. My mom caught me sneaking out, and well, I guess I wish you were here."

 _That was a stupid idea_ , Owen thought. Now he was just talking to himself. How could a fictional person hear him?

As he settled back into his bed, his mind swam with thoughts, making it hard to fall asleep despite the warmth and comfort that the blankets gave off. He wasn't sure how long he laid there, waiting for sleep to come. He didn't remember when he finally sank into sleep, giving him a second chance to rest until his mother would wake him up.

Unlike the past few nights, however, his dreams had returned to how they usually were. The next few hours of the early morning brought dreams of him being announced as the new High King of Narnia, attending Hogwarts, and playing as Spider-Man — all at the same time. His friends were with him, without a faceless man in sight.

In his dream, he was undoubtedly happy, without a concern in the world. He was able to enjoy all the fun of the fictional world without Bethany holding him back from the cool stuff, like she usually did. Not only was he enjoying himself in the fictional world, but he was completely safe. It was exactly the life that Owen had always wished for.

* * *

The next morning, Kiel awoke to the sound of banging. He crinkled his eyebrows, slowly tossing the blankets off of him and sliding off the couch. He blinked, immensely confused as he tried to locate the source of the noise. He was in Bethany's living room. After much convincing on Bethany's part, he'd agreed to sleep over her house . . . but _only_ so she could make sure he wouldn't disappear.

He felt a bit regretful about telling her everything, because now she always looked worried, even when she wasn't doing anything. But he'd gone too far yesterday with the 5-Hour-Energy drink. He knew that it had all been building up, and trying to gain energy from a nonfictional source maybe wasn't the smartest idea.

Normally, everything worked out for Kiel. He could do any dangerous thing he wanted and he wouldn't get a single injury. But that was when he was in the fictional world, back in Magisteria and Quanterium. This was different. He could already tell he was much weaker, simply after a few months of being in the nonfictional world. The more he stayed here, the weaker he became.

What else could he have done besides tell Bethany the truth? It was the last thing Kiel wanted to do, but it had been the only option left. It was time to accept help from his friends, despite how much he didn't want to. He needed to be more honest with them, and now, he would be. He realized that he couldn't handle _everything_ by himself, and it took a great deal of trail and error to realize that.

He got to his feet, still fairly exhausted and weak from yesterday. He'd been drinking numerous amounts of water — to boost his energy "the healthy way", as Bethany put it — but it hadn't done much to make him feel better. He hated the fact that he had to admit he felt weak. It was something he never did before, but surprisingly, it felt nice to admit it for once.

He crept into the kitchen to see a huge pile of books sitting on the kitchen table. Bethany was hovering over it, flipping through the pages of a book. Kiel cleared his throat, sneaking a glance at the clock on the wall, which read 8:39 am. "Don't we have school today?"

She flinched, then turned around, giving him a surprised look. "Oh, you're awake!" She nodded. "Yeah, we do. But it's Friday, and I really could care less if I'm late. I want to get you some medicine right away."

He smiled in response, unsteadily crossing the path to the kitchen table and sitting down on a chair. He ran a hand through his bedraggled hair, which had chosen to stick up in random angles this morning. "Have you found anything worth using yet?"

"I found this, but I'm not sure how well it'll work." She handed him a copy of _What's to Come in the Future_ , a book of made-up futuristic inventions. It was open to a page about recovery pills, which claimed, _You'll feel like you've had a week of sleep with just one pill!_

Kiel read the page. "Hey, isn't this the same pill you used after Doyle — I mean, _Fowen_ — tried to drown you?"

"Yep," she replied, looking uncomfortable at the memory. "Does it look like it'll work?"

"It doesn't hurt to try," he said, handing the book back to her. "Anything we can find should work. At least we have a fictional way of doing it."

She reached into the page and pulled one of the pills out, handing it to him. As he swallowed it down with a glass of water, she looked through more books, setting some aside in a small pile and throwing others back to the larger, messier pile.

"When did you get all of these?" he asked, staring at the pile with perplexed confusion.

"I went to the library as soon as it opened up," Bethany said, placing another book in the large pile. "It took a while, but I grabbed a bunch of books that seemed like they'd work." She pointed to the small pile, where there were about seven books in total. "These ones should work. I'm just trying to find one that saves a person from death _before_ it happens, you know?"

He almost laughed. "I'm not going to die! I'm pretty sure I can hold off for the next few days until we jump into the fictional world again."

"We shouldn't take our chances," she said. "This is kind of unpredictable."

"True," he said. "But I think I'll be okay with what you've found." He stood up and read through the smaller pile of books, all of which were about futuristic medicine or cures. One was even about the Fountain of Youth, which he remembered learning about in history class.

"See?" He showed her the book. "This looks pretty useful. The books you already have look like they'll help me. And the pill you gave me seems to already be working, so what's there to keep looking for?"

"I don't know." She rubbed her eyes, setting the book she'd been holding down. "I'm just . . . scared, Kiel. I want to help you somehow."

"You already have." He smiled at her. "I wasn't even _planning_ to talk to you about what's been going on. If I hadn't, I wouldn't be feeling better."

"Okay." She reluctantly stepped away from the table. Returning his smile, she stuck her hand inside _Percy Jackson: the Sea of Monsters_ , pulling out a large cloth with intricate designs on it. "Owen would definitely be against me taking this, but I don't think Camp Half-Blood will be missing it right now. Here, put it on."

She threw the cloth around his shoulders, and instantly, a warm glow filled him, making him feel less exhausted. He grinned, feeling instantly a lot better. "It's like magic. What _is_ this?"

"It's called the Golden Fleece," she informed him. "It has the power to heal anything. You should keep wearing it for the day. With that and the recovery pill, I think it'll help you."

"Thanks. I can definitely tell that it's working." He paused. "Wait, I can't wear this at school."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that," Bethany said. "You shouldn't go to school today."

"What? But I'm fine!" In fact, he _did_ feel better. This fictional medicine was working wonders for him. "If this is medicine, I wish I was sick every day."

"You need to stay at home and rest." Before he could protest, she picked up her phone and walked out of the kitchen. "I'll be right back. Gotta call Owen!"

"Don't tell him about me!" he called after her. "I'm telling him on my own!"

"Got it!" Bethany shouted from the other room. A few seconds later, he heard her talking to Owen on the phone in a quiet voice. When she returned ten minutes later, she was grinning. "We're going to meet at the library tonight."

Kiel raised an eyebrow. "But we wouldn't be able to see Owen that way. Isn't he still grounded?"

"Yeah. He got caught by his mom for sneaking out with us, which he was kind of mad at _me_ for." She made a face. "It was his choice to sneak out. He could've said no. But actually, it turned into good news. Now, he's going to work at the library in the afternoons and nights!"

* * *

Owen sat patiently at the doctor's office, answering questions that the doctor asked him about his arm. Since it was a week after his trip to the hospital, the doctors had asked for a checkup appointment to see if Owen's arm was healing the correct way. After some x-rays were taken, the doctors confirmed that his arm should heal within the next six to twelve weeks, depending on how successful his healing process was.

Once the doctor finished writing notes in his clipboard and began talking to Owen's mother about future appointments, Owen stared off into space, becoming lost in thought without even realizing it. Especially when in the real world, it was easy for him to get distracted and give into his active imagination. Sometimes the real world was so dull compared to the fictional one; it helped to imagine he was somewhere else instead of in a doctor's office.

"Can you meet us again in . . . three weeks?" the doctor was saying.

Owen's mother nodded, slipping her purse onto her shoulder. "Yes, that sounds good."

"Okay," the doctor said, flashing a smile at Owen. "Have a nice day. Don't worry, you'll get to take that cast off soon!"

 _How soon is that exactly?_ Owen wanted to remark, but he kept his mouth shut since his mother was standing right there. He followed her out the door, a bit more relaxed than he'd been this morning. His mother had still been pretty angry at him, and her anger hadn't worn off until noon.

On their car ride to the library, she told him the entire procedure of what he'd be doing that afternoon. Today would be a bit unusual, because there was supposed to be a party at the library, where dozens of authors were supposed to come to talk about books. Owen was really excited about this, and he hoped someone famous would come, like Rick Riordan. His heart would surely stop beating if _that_ happened.

By early afternoon, they reached the library. Owen had to try hard to suppress a grin at the sight of it. He might be working there now, but that's what he used to do most nights anyway when he was twelve. Being back in the library would make things feel like normal again. His heart was practically soaring. Aside from his mother not trusting him, things had still managed to work out. This was really happening! He could go to the library again!

His mother opened the door, and he did the same, pushing open the heavy door with some effort since he was only using one hand. A cold, strong wind blew into him, making him shiver. After a short walk across the parking lot, his mother opened the door, and he found himself suddenly unable to stop smiling, despite how much he tried not to.

He couldn't stop staring at the familiar rows and rows of books. Comfort washed over him, making him feel safe and secure. This was always the place that he felt most at home. Books were the greatest thing that had ever happened to him, and they never failed to cheer him up. As far as he could tell, not much had changed at all, aside from the placement of the books on the shelves.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his mother smiling at him. When he turned back to her, her expression turned serious. "I'm going to set up my office. While I'm doing that, I want you to start organizing the library. We want everything to be in order for the party tonight. Got it?"

"Gotten," Owen replied, still grinning from ear to ear. She smiled at that, then turned around and walked towards her office.

He walked over to the center of the library, where someone had already set up a table with a pink tablecloth and different boxed foods on it. He felt a surge of pride to know that his mother's library was finally getting the recognition it deserved. He didn't remember ever having a party here before. If authors were coming here for a party, who knew what that meant for the library's publicity! Would bigger crowds start coming in? How big would the party be?

Then, Owen thought of something that made him gasp out loud. Would _J.K Rowling_ be there? Okay, that was probably pushing it. But if she was, he'd probably just start gushing to her about his love for Harry Potter, and then she'd get annoyed and would walk away.

The fact that a famous author might come to the party would make Owen's dreams come true, even if nobody talked to him. No, he'd _have_ to talk to them. He'd force them to talk to him if they didn't want to. Well, he wouldn't _force_ them, because that'd be rude. Maybe he could even talk to them about his own love for writing! Not that he was very good at it, but he wanted to be in the future.

He'd have to keep practicing. So far, he'd written several stories, but none of them were very long or good. He hadn't let a single person read them — including his mother and Bethany — so how could he be an author if he was embarrassed about his own writing?

He hoped this author party would be helpful. Part of him already knew that he wanted to be an author, but he wasn't completely sure if that's what he wanted to do. All he knew was that he loved books, and he never had much interest in anything else.

"I need you to come to school," Bethany said, slamming her backpack onto a nearby table. She sat down in a heap, then abruptly stood back up and started walking back and forth through the isle.

It was right before 5:00 pm, which meant that the party would be starting soon. Owen had been organizing the entire library all day, and had even dusted the shelves to make everything look nicer. A banner that read, "Welcome, authors!" hung from the ceiling in front of the door, and pink balloons were taped to the shelves. Potted flowers also were in front of each shelf, giving off a fresh smell and making the library look less dull. The library was in the prettiest state that Owen had ever seen it.

"What? Why?" Owen slid another book back on the shelf, into its proper place. For the entire day, rearranging books on their shelves was all he'd been doing.

Bethany continued pacing through the isle, letting out short breaths. She accidentally kicked over a pile of books, which Owen had neatly stacked for convenience. She made a low, growling noise at the back of her throat, hitting her hand against the bookcase. "Ugh. Why can't I do anything right today?"

He looked at her with a frown. "Will you _please_ slow down? I'm trying to get everything ready for the party."

"No," Bethany said, still pacing. She gave him an apologetic look and stopped right in front of him, blocking his view of the bookcase. "Sorry. My teacher yelled at me in class today, which was during my last class of the day, by the way."

"Wow," Owen said, pushing her out of the way and placing another book on the shelf. "Why do teachers always need to be rude for no reason?"

"No idea," she muttered. She glanced at the pile of books. "Oh, I should help you with that." She grabbed one book from the floor. "Where does this go?"

"Over there." He pointed behind him. "Next to the James Patterson books. By the way, where's Kiel? Is he coming?"

"He got sick today, so he stayed home," Bethany admitted, a bit quicker than Owen found believable. She slid the book onto the shelf. "So what exactly is going on here? There's been book fairs, but nothing like _this_. Is there some sort of party happening tonight?"

"Yeah! It's an author party," Owen said, picking up another book and searching for the right spot to put it. "I'm not sure who's coming, but this is going to be huge. We've never had a party like this before. And if some famous author comes here, I'm never going to be the same. This is going to be _life-changing_ , Bethany."

She smiled, patting him on the shoulder. "I think you'll stay exactly the same. This is only a party."

"A party for authors!"

"Huh. Then do you think Jonathan Porterhouse would come here?"

"I'll bet you a million dollars he won't," Owen told her, grinning. "He's been scarred ever since Kiel and the Magister left their books."

"Yeah, true," Bethany said. "I heard he's so traumatized that he doesn't even write books anymore!"

He picked up another book, then looked at her in shock. "Are you serious?"

"Yep! Well, those are only rumors, but I think they're true. I doubt he'd set foot in a library ever again."

Owen opened his mouth to respond, but he heard his mother calling him from somewhere nearby. "Owen, get the table set up!"

"Okay!" he shouted. He gestured for Bethany to follow him, and they walked over to the table, where unopened boxes of various party snacks and desserts were sitting on top of. They got to work right away, placing the food in neat piles on separate plastic plates.

Once they were done, Owen's mother walked over, looking pleased. "Thank you, that looks great! Can you go straighten out more parts of the library? Make sure everything looks nice. Everyone should be arriving in fifteen minutes."

"Sure," Bethany said. Owen's mother rushed back over to her office, obviously busy getting the party ready. When they turned back to the table, Owen was surprised to hear a strange, panting noise emerging from right underneath it. Frowning, he exchanged a look with Bethany before lifting up the tablecloth. There were a lot of things his imagination came up with, but what he _wasn't_ expecting to see was his very own dog.

"Bark Vader?" Owen whispered as the dog licked his face, then crawled out from under the table.

"What's your dog doing here?" Bethany questioned, her eyebrows raised. "I thought your mom never brought her to the library."

Owen shrugged, just as perplexed. "I guess she must've brought her here earlier, while I was doing my homework." He watched as the dog circled around the table, then lifted her head to sniff the food on top of it, which was just out of her reach.

Seeing that Bark Vader wasn't about to ruin any of their hard work, Owen turned back to Bethany. "We should check in each isle, just to make sure all of the books are put away."

She walked towards one direction. "Okay. I'll take this half, and you can take the other."

He nodded, ready to do just that, but another noise stopped him. Owen cringed, and he slowly turned around, only to see that Bark Vader had somehow climbed on top of the table, and she was now munching on a plate of cookies that had once looked appealing.

"Vadie!" Owen whisper-shouted, putting his hand out. "No no no no no! Stop!"

When the dog kept eating, he darted over to her, grabbing her around the waist. She was fairly light, but he was only able to use one hand, making it difficult to pull her away. He finally managed to yank her off the table, causing the tablecloth, along with all of the food, to clatter to the floor.

"Bethany!" he shouted. He knelt down, scrambling to pick up the food and plates. There were crumbs everywhere. How was he supposed to clean all of this now?

Footsteps came down the isle, and Bethany appeared into view, looking as if she'd just been running. When she saw the mess on the floor, her mouth dropped open. "Oh, my god. I left you alone for two minutes and _this_ happened?"

Owen rolled his eyes. "Hey, _I_ didn't do it. Vadie did this. C'mon, help me clean this up before my mom sees."

She quickly moved to his side, grabbing a handful of snacks that were scattered across the ground and picking them up. Mostly everything was destroyed, and what wasn't destroyed obviously couldn't be eaten, so they threw the remaining food into a nearby trash can. Besides that, there wasn't much they could do besides fixing the tablecloth.

"There goes all the food," Owen said, wistfully staring at the empty table. "Now the party is ruined." He already hearing his mother's angry shouts in his head. Guilt blossomed in his chest. He didn't want to make her even angrier than she'd been last night. He seemed to be messing up everything lately.

Bethany set her brow. "We'll fix it. I have an idea." She stalked off into the isle where all the cookbooks were, giving him no choice but to follow.

"What idea —" he began, then slowly smiled once he realized what she was doing. "Oh, that's perfect!"

She grinned in response, grabbing a book specifically about desserts before sticking her arm through it. She gritted her teeth, clearly having some difficulties, then stuck both hands in and slowly pulled out a chocolate cake. "See? Problem solved."

"Yes!" Owen quietly cheered. After grabbing some fictional cookies to put on a plate, the two of them poured the new food back onto the table, making sure that Bark Vader was far away this time.

Just as they'd finished setting up the table, a redheaded man walked into the library. He glanced around, seemingly lost, before his eyes landed on Owen and Bethany. He walked closer to them, pretending not to notice them as he gazed at all the books on the shelves.

"You've got a nice selection here," he observed, still not looking at them.

"Can I help you?" Owen asked, after exchanging a confused look with Bethany.

The stranger shook his head. "No, thank you. I'm just looking at the books. I guess I'm a little early for the party!"

"You're attending the party?" Bethany asked. "So you're an author?"

The man smiled, finally meeting their eyes. "Yes, I guess that's what you could call me. I'm here for the party, aren't I?"

She stared at him, looking increasingly annoyed. "So are you or aren't you?"

"I _am_ an author. You probably haven't heard of me, but my name is James Riley. Hey, you two look really familiar. Have I seen you around somewhere?"

"I don't —" Bethany started to say, but Owen cut her off. "My name is Owen, and this is my friend Bethany! Wow. This is my first time meeting a real life author! Your name sounds really familiar. Didn't you write _Half Upon A Time_?"

"I did," James said, looking vaguely uncomfortable now.

"Wait . . ." Bethany said. "You're James Riley. I know I heard about you from somewhere." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "You wrote _our_ books, didn't you?"

The author raised an eyebrow. "I think that'd be some serious copyright if I stole the ideas for your books."

"No, she's right," Owen said, realization dawning on him. "Are you the author of _Story Thieves_? My book?"

" _Story Thieves_? Sure, I am! But I thought they were _my_ books, since I wrote them and all. Those definitely couldn't be _your_ books."

"But how do you know us?" Bethany demanded.

James chuckled. "I just met you right now, kids. I don't know what you want me to tell you. I happen to have your names in my book, but it's nothing more than a coincidence."

Owen swallowed hard. "Are you . . . are you Nobody?"

"That's kind of rude," James said, then paused. "Well, that's what my brother calls me. I guess I sort of _am_ a nobody in his eyes."

"I don't think he knows us," Bethany hissed in Owen's ear. "I think Nobody wrote our books using this guys' name, and James Riley thinks he's the author of the books. But he doesn't know the books are real."

"Agreed," Owen whispered, nodding his head. "I don't think he knows who we _really_ are. At least, it doesn't seem like he does."

She pulled away, glanced at James Riley, then back at Owen. "Let me know if you're getting murdered or something. I'm gonna be in the children's section."

"Bethany," Owen started to say, but she'd already walked away. Great timing. Of _course_ she'd leave him alone to talk to this author person.

He turned back to James, only to see that several other men and women were trickling into the building. His mother was talking to a group of them in the doorway, a smile on her face. Owen quickly straightened his posture, smiling as one of the authors — a woman — approached the table. He clasped his hands together, trying to ignore how sweaty they felt.

"Your library is very nice," the woman with silver hair said, her eyes drifting around the room before landing on Owen.

"Thank you," Owen said, his voice raising in pitch. He cleared his throat, flushing red from embarrassment. "Um, what books did you, um, write?"

"You might know me as the author of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series. Have you read it?"

He gaped. "Have I . . ." This wasn't just anyone. This was Kathryn Lasky! He stared at her, completely at a loss for words. He'd read her books at least four times when he was younger. Maybe more than that, but who was counting?

Kathryn laughed. "I guess you _have_ read it, haven't you? Don't worry, I get that reaction a lot from my fans."

Owen smiled in response, and he watched in a daze as Kathryn walked over into an isle of books. "This is why I don't like talking to other authors," James said, leaning towards him. "They always brag about how their stories are better than mine."

Owen flinched. He'd forgotten the other author was there. "Hey! I'm an author."

"You are?"

"Not _exactly_ , but . . . I don't know." He flushed, looking away. "I'm not an author. Not really."

"Do you write stories?" James asked curiously.

"Y-Yeah." He snuck at glance at his mother, but she was still talking to the group of authors. Bethany was too far away, so there was no way she could get him out of this conversation. "But they aren't any good."

James scoffed. "I'm sure they are. You said so yourself: you're an author."

"Not really. My stories aren't good. They're very bad, actually."

"Who cares if they aren't any good? If you write, you're an author. You don't need to have a fancy title to be called one."

"Really?" Owen perked up, suddenly more interested in talking to this man. "I thought authors were only people who wrote books."

"That's true. You have to write a book and publish it to make money. But anyone can be an author if they're writing."

"I never thought of it like that . . ."

"Most people don't think of it that way," James said. "But it's true. Anyone who writes _is_ an author, in some way."

"So where do you get inspiration for your books?" Owen asked. "Whenever I write they're usually based off of bad ideas that I come up with."

"Gnomes," James replied with a smile. "I don't recommend them, they're really overpriced!" Owen laughed as the author continued speaking. "Actually, I get them from the ideas that pop into my head. So, you wanna know how to write books? Is that what you want to be, an author?"

"I don't know," Owen said, looking at his feet. "I really love books, and I _want_ to be good at writing someday."

"Just keep practicing," James said. "I bet you're already good at writing, but you aren't letting yourself see the full picture. Have you let anyone else read your stories?"

Owen's face reddened. "No!"

"Well, you probably should. I bet that redheaded girl can give you some pointers on your writing."

"I really don't think so," he muttered. "How could I . . . you know, become an author? Hypothetically speaking, because I really don't know what I want to be when I grow up."

James shrugged. "I honestly have no idea, but I think the best thing to do is write and read other peoples' books. That's the only way to get better and figure out your passion. If you need help with that, you should just keep reading books. Books have all the answers, probably more than I could ever give you."

"Wow," Owen said, slowly starting to smile. "Thank you! One last question, and then I'll be out of your way. If you could pick Neverland or Wonderland to visit, which would it be?"

James grinned a little. "I'd probably pick Neverland. Never growing up seems more fun than getting chased by a queen who wants my head."

Owen beamed. He hadn't expected much out of this party, but he certainly wasn't expecting to get advice from an author.

It made him feel a bit better about things, to know that as long as he kept writing, he'd get better at it. He didn't know where the future would take him, but he knew that being an author wouldn't seem so bad at all. He still had plenty of time to figure it out, and as long as everything would go smoothly once they went to the fictional world, this could certainly be a future for him. It didn't seem like such a bad idea.

* * *

 _"_ _I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become . . ."_


	21. Obligations

_**Breathe (by Lauv)**_

 _"_ _You're my all and more. All I know you taught me, yeah . . ."_

* * *

After spending the entirety of Friday and Saturday morning wearing the Golden Fleece like a cape, Kiel could confirm that he was already feeling much better. His strength had returned, but it was still less so than normal. His body no longer shook, and his heart didn't race out of control, which was a relief. The color had returned to his face, and he had less trouble walking around now.

To add to that, Bethany had stopped by his house this morning before her book club meeting, dropping off some fictional medicine that he could take. Much to his disappointment, she'd placed the Golden Fleece back into the book it came from, claiming that he'd been wearing it for too long. He wished he could've worn it longer. Nothing, not even a spell had given him that kind of strength. But he _had_ taken more of those recovery pills, which were helpful in boosting his energy.

Kiel was very glad that he was feeling renewed. Unlike the past week, he felt hopeful again. He'd been worried that he'd feel this way forever, which definitely wasn't the right way to live. Drinking 5-Hour-Energy had been the wrong choice, he knew that now. But it was his only option. He hadn't known where else to go.

Telling Bethany what he'd been hiding had surprisingly turned out to be a good thing. After he fainted, that had been the only option left anyway. There wasn't much he could do besides let her help him, now that she knew the truth. It was either that or let himself get worse, and he'd rather get his strength back. There wasn't much he could do to help himself.

Kiel was planning to tell Owen later today, once he was done being homeschooled in the morning. He wasn't very happy about that, but it had to be done. Keeping secrets from his friends had been a mistake, and he underestimated them. They would always help him, no matter what mistakes he made. If he refused the help, he might never recover, and he wouldn't be able to live much longer without it.

Despite his wariness to tell Bethany about his situation, he was glad that he had. He'd been planning to tell absolutely no one, because he was worried what they'd think. Kiel Gnomenfoot, weak? They'd laugh.

He thought Bethany would've judged him harshly for his actions, but he was pleasantly surprised at her reaction. While she had still reacted pretty badly, she hadn't thought any differently of him. That was the only reason he hadn't told his friends. They knew him as Kiel the hero, not as the boy who was weak and close to death.

Kiel never wanted them to see him as weak, since they were his best friends. Really, he never wanted _anyone_ to see him that way. It only made him uncomfortable. But he realized that those things didn't matter. His friends had always been by his side, and they'd only want to help. They wouldn't think of him any differently, because he was still the same person that he'd always been. This realization made him feel a lot better, to know that his weakness didn't define him.

Once he returned to the fictional world, he didn't think this wouldn't be a problem anymore. At least, he _hoped_ so. For now, however, he was already feeling better. A lot of his strength had returned, making him feel nearly back to normal. Everything would be fixed in no time. Well, _almost_ everything. There was still the factor that he might disappear, but he was less worried about that. He wouldn't disappear if he stayed here for a bit longer. Plus, he had the medicine to help him out, so whenever he felt weak he could keep taking that.

He'd only be here for a day or two longer, and then he'd be back in the fictional world before he knew it. That was enough to send a rush of excitement through him. He'd gotten bored of the nonfictional world, and he was ready for an adventure, no matter how dangerous it would be. He couldn't wait to get on with it and go back to the life he'd been missing. It was time to go home and put a stop to Nobody's evil plans, _and_ have fun while doing it.

Truthfully, he was a bit nervous about fighting Nobody, since the last time had resulted in making Nobody angry . . . which resulted in Kiel nearly getting killed by Oliver Bines. But that was when he was alone. He was weaker when he was in the nonfictional world.

This time, he'd be in the fictional world. Once there, his magic wouldn't exhaust him and his body wouldn't be weak. He could finally show off his skills again. He was amazing at fighting when his strength was there, so he nothing but optimistic about this. He was absolutely certain that everything would work out for him, including his friends and the rest of the worlds. The fictional world would be saved in no time!

The only problem was: that time wouldn't be for another few days, and Kiel was bored from sitting in his house for two days. He'd never really understood the concept of grounding, which was what happened to Owen, but he fully understood how he felt now.

No one liked staying at home, and Kiel was no exception. He wasn't the type of person to stay cooped up in one place. He preferred seeing the world, since there were always new things to see in the nonfictional world that he'd never seen on Magisteria.

Deciding that since Bethany wasn't here, and since he was strong enough to leave the house, he could distract himself by walking around town. Since he'd been here for so long, he had a good sense of direction so he wasn't worried about getting lost. He needed something to do, anyway. All he'd been doing for the past day and a half was take medicine, which was pretty boring in itself. He'd perform magic in a heartbeat, but he didn't want to risk his condition further.

Kiel chose a long, winding street that he'd never taken before. It felt refreshing to see something new aside from the houses and trees that were already in his neighborhood. The sky was filled with clouds, looking like it was going to snow or rain. For some reason, walking in the cold didn't really bother him as much as it used to. He preferred the warmer, more comfortable weather, but he didn't particularly mind this either. He often enjoyed it, because he could walk past the houses that were adorned with Christmas lights and decorations of snowmen and reindeer on their lawns.

Before coming here, he'd never seen anything like this before. Magisteria — including Quanterium — never had decorations like this. He liked it, but he didn't understand why Earth was so avid about decorations and holidays. He knew the holidays that Owen had told him about: Christmas, New Years, Easter, and Halloween.

According to Owen, Halloween was the most important, so Kiel agreed that was true. He'd heard many, _many_ stories about it, but never had he experienced it on his own before. He wasn't sure when Halloween was, but he hoped he wouldn't miss it for Owen's sake. Holidays were foreign to him, and he hardly understood what the purpose of them were. Back on Magisteria, nothing was celebrated since the two planets were always in war.

Kiel didn't even know when his birthday was, which shocked Bethany and Owen immensely. Not many citizens celebrated theirs anyway, but most of them knew when their birthdays were. But how _could_ he know? It was pretty much impossible to guess when it'd be. And really, why did it matter so much that he knew what day he was born? Once a year was finished, he usually declared himself a new age.

Oh, wait, so maybe he'd be _sixteen_ right now, since the new year — at least the Earth version — had happened. Huh. Everything was confusing now. Now it all made sense! _That_ was why birthdates were important!

Even if he wanted to, though, he didn't think he could ever find out his true birthdate. He was a clone of Dr. Verity, so technically hadn't he never been born? Dr. Verity was also a man who Kiel doubted had ever written the date to anything, since he was unarguably insane. There was no way he'd ever find out what his birthday was, much less any other important information.

As he wandered around, Kiel amused himself by imagining the hypothetical conversation he'd have with Dr. Verity. It'd start off like: _"Oh, hello Dr. Verity, my arch nemesis and clone! Funny question . . . what day was I born?"_

Dr. Verity would respond with crazed laughter, and then some idiotic comeback. Kiel would never get the answer out of him. That man was too insane to communicate anything properly. None of what Dr. Verity said made any sense, except for the fact that he only cared about wiping out Magisteria. Kiel couldn't remember a single time he'd had a normal conversation with the evil scientist, nor did he really care to. It wouldn't get anywhere.

Kiel found himself wondering how the crazed scientist was doing, anyway. Was he still alive? Last time Kiel had seen him, he'd locked him in the Source of Magic with his own bomb. He couldn't imagine Dr. Verity escaping a trap like that, but if he had, did he know about Nobody too? And if he did, which side was he on?

That brought another question. Which side would the _Magister_ be on? It sent a shiver down his spine just to think about it. Nobody was just as powerful as the Magister was, since he could rewrite himself to be anyone. With his magic, the Magister would be a just as powerful ally.

Had the Magister actually somehow escaped from the book that Bethany had left him in? He remembered Elijah saying that the Magister had been working with Nobody, but was the really true?

Despite the Magister's evilness when he'd tried taking over the nonfictional world, Kiel couldn't imagine it. This was about his own world, not about some other one. His old teacher had made a lot of errors that Kiel was unable to forgive him for, but he couldn't imagine him ever doing something so evil. Would the Magister be that cruel to want to destroy the fictional world, too? And why would he do that?

The Magister had wanted control over the nonfictional world, but he never wanted to destroy his own world. Well, at least not _Magisteria_. From what he'd unfortunately learned, Kiel could assume that the Magister would destroy Quanterium in a heartbeat. He'd heard that from Bethany and Owen, not from the Magister himself.

If that was the case — that the Magister was on Nobody's side and wanted to contribute to destroying the worlds — he wanted to hear it for himself. Despite everything, there was still a small side of Kiel that wanted to trust the Magister. Years of apprenticeship just didn't go away like that, even if he disliked his former teacher now. He really hoped it wouldn't be true. Kiel hoped that the Magister would've learned his lesson from the first mistake he'd made.

As he walked, he hummed a tune he'd heard from one of the many German songs he'd listened to when he came to the nonfictional world a few months ago. The music he'd heard in Magisteria was nothing like what he listened to here. And the music wasn't played on the Nalwork like how the nonfictional music was played on the Internet. He didn't listen to music very much, but he liked what he heard when he did.

Music wasn't popular at all back in his home planet, which Kiel found surprising because it was so captivating. The first time he'd heard Pop (was that what it was called?) music was when he was driving in the car with Bethany and Owen, and a catchy song had played on the radio. It was the first song he'd heard that came from a machine instead of a musical instrument. He wasn't sure what any of the songs were called, but he liked trying out the new ones that he happened to come across.

Kiel continued walking, unsure where he was going but not really caring where he ended up. He had his teleportation button with him, so if anything happened he could easily teleport back to his house.

He turned the corner of a busy street and was surprised that he spotted Owen's neighborhood just up ahead. This wasn't the usual route he took to Owen's house but he had somehow ended up here anyway. Kiel hadn't been planning to see Owen until this afternoon, since he wanted to wait longer before he told Owen the truth.

He didn't want to scare his friend, but there was no other way around it. He'd have to tell Owen the truth eventually, and right now seemed like the best time. It would be a good idea to get this over with. Kiel had told Bethany the upsetting truth, so he could tell Owen as well.

He didn't like how vulnerable this situation put him in, to admit how he'd been feeling. It was hard enough the first time he'd genuinely asked for help. He was used to hiding his weaknesses and trying to overcome them in his own. He had to remind himself that that was the wrong idea in this case. Thinking he could handle something so dangerous had been a huge mistake that he hoped he would never make again.

Kiel just didn't want to upset Owen with the news that they'd have to go back to the fictional world within the next few days. Owen had been trapped in _Pick The Plot_ for three entire years, and he had returned merely a week ago. He hadn't been home for very long. Kiel wished they could've had more time to relax and have fun, but there was only so much time before the fictional world crumbled away and Nobody took control.

Owen would understand; he always did. He had lived to the very end of Kiel's journey, making him braver than even Kiel sometimes was.

With these thoughts in mind, Kiel made his way over to Owen's house and knocked on the door. He heard Bark Vader's loud barks coming from the other side of the door, but no other noises besides that. He waited for nearly a full minute, his face flushed from the cold. The door was finally opened by Owen, who greeted him with a goofy smile. "Kiel!"

"Hi, Owen!" Kiel stepped into the house and ruffled his friend's wavy hair, an action that'd he'd started doing now that he was quite a bit taller than Owen.

"What are you doing here? I'd love to hang out, but I have school right now. I'm not exactly allowed to see anyone until I go to the library," Owen reminded him, pointing towards the kitchen. His face brightened. "But we can hang out at the library if you come over in the afternoon."

Kiel glanced over Owen's shoulder to see Ms. Conners seated at the kitchen table, staring at them. He looked back at Owen. "Actually, there's something I need to tell you. Right now, if your mom allows it."

Owen's expression turned serious, and he looked at his mother. "Can me and Kiel talk real quick?"

She nodded. "I'll give you ten minutes, but that's it, boys!"

"Thank you!" Owen said. He hurried up the stairs and into his bedroom, Kiel following behind him. Once they got inside, he slammed the door shut, his broken arm swinging in the process. At the sudden movement, he winced a little and grabbed his broken arm, gingerly holding it in it's cast.

"Is it healing alright?" Kiel asked softly, staring with concern at his broken arm.

Owen forced a smile. "It's getting there, thanks. I'm supposed to get the cast off in six weeks at the earliest. Hopefully, if it heals that fast." He looked at Kiel. "Um, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Kiel frowned, mustering his courage before he spoke. "Something has been happening to me ever since you came back to the nonfictional world. I didn't want to tell you . . . _or_ Bethany, but I was left with no choice. It's kind of serious. My stuff started to disappear out of nowhere, like my cape and my belt. I became really exhausted, and every method I used to solve it didn't make it go away."

He sighed. "It just made me feel worse, and I don't think I'll make it if I stay here much longer. I have a feeling that I'll disappear, just like the rest of my items. I think it's because the fictional world is weak, and it's been growing weaker ever since Nobody split the worlds."

Owen's eyes widened, and he looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't. Kiel swallowed hard, gazing at the worried expression on his friend's face. "I'm sorry, Owen. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to worry you. I thought we'd have more time to do fun things together. I thought I could handle it, but I couldn't."

Owen sucked in a breath. "Kiel . . . wow. Oh, my god. I'm really sorry. I wish I'd known earlier. That sounds _awful_." He shook his head in disbelief, visibly upset. "Does Bethany know?"

"Yeah," Kiel breathed. "I happened to faint on Thursday, and she saw me. She gave me some fictional medicine, which has been helping me feel much better than I was earlier."

"But you're still feeling weak," Owen observed, and it wasn't a question. Kiel slowly nodded. "It makes sense that only fictional medicine would help you. The best thing we can do now is go back to the fictional world. We shouldn't wait."

Kiel raised his eyebrows, feeling surprised. "But you just got home."

"I know," Owen said quietly, looking down. "But I knew we'd be going back eventually, to stop Nobody from destroying everything. I just didn't know that the fictional world was getting so weak. We gotta save you before you disappear, before the entire _world_ disappears!"

Kiel smiled, suddenly feeling a lot better now that he'd told Owen. "Don't worry. We'll save the world long before that happens."

"Yeah, I _hope_ so," Owen said, but he looked unsure. "But we have to come up with a plan before we leave. We can't walk into another one of Nobody's traps. He's beaten all of us before."

"Exactly. Which is why we won't let that happen again," Kiel replied with a wink, which seemed to relax Owen. "We'll come up with a solid plan, and then? The three of us will go to the fictional world and show Nobody who's boss."

Owen smiled. "Yeah!

* * *

As soon as Bethany returned from the book club, she made a beeline for one place in particular, not wanting to delay this any longer. After reading what her mother had said in the Doc Twilight comic book, she'd been wanting to contact Murray Chase. Today, that was exactly what she'd do. Of all the nonfictional people, he could certainly give her some answers pertaining her life. Most importantly, about her father and the night he'd gone missing.

Also, since her mother wasn't . . . the most available person . . . to talk to, she'd find some other way to get information.

Bethany had never talked to Murray before, not face to face. She wished she could've met him earlier. She probably had when her father had been here, but she didn't remember him. After her father's disappearance, Bethany's mother had kept Bethany separated from everything that had to do with her father — which was entirely rude, by the way. She didn't know why her mother had kept information like that from her. It was ridiculous, to not tell her own daughter important things like who her father was and who he'd been friends with.

If Bethany had known all of this, she would've been able to take her father home a lot sooner, before Nobody decided to split her apart and torture all of her friends. It would've saved her a _lot_ of time if this had been solved _before_ she was twelve.

Not only did she want to talk to Murray about her mother, but she wanted to explain the situation with Nobody and ask him about Mason Black. If the author of the Doc Twilight comics was still captured by Nobody, that could be bad news. If he was captured, who knew what Nobody was doing to that man? There was also a chance that Mason Black was back in the real world, so maybe she could talk to him too. She had to figure this out, and _fast_. Kiel's life depended on it, so this would have to be quick.

Bethany passed neighborhood after neighborhood before she made it to Ditko Drive, the street that Murray Chase lived on. Last time she'd been here, Kiel had led her nonfictional self to Jupiter City. And the time before that, she and Owen were going on a mission to save her father.

This was the first time she'd be coming to his house alone, and it was also the first time she'd have a real conversation with him. That thought made her nervous. Then again, what _didn't_ make her nervous? It was becoming rarer and rarer that Bethany ever found himself not worried. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time that she wasn't worried about something.

"Here goes nothing," Bethany whispered to herself as she walked purposefully down Ditko Drive. She kept her eyes trained on the house at the end of the street, butterflies swirling in her stomach. This wasn't the time to back down. She needed to talk to Murray, since he was a friend of her father's.

She took a deep breath before climbing the porch steps and knocking on the door. It seemed that Kiel _had_ ended up fixing the door. She hadn't remembered him doing it last time she was here, but she'd been pretty exhausted back then. With the state she was in, she probably wouldn't have been able to tell if Kiel had quickly fixed the door. She couldn't imagine what Murray's reaction would've been if he came home and saw his entire front door was destroyed.

A few moments later, the door opened, and Bethany found herself staring into the eyes of the man from the picture — the one from her fourth birthday party. He squinted, almost as if he didn't recognize her. "Bethany?"

Hi," she said. "Can we talk? I mean, if you're not busy right now."

Murray smiled, stepping back to allow her space. "No, I'm not busy. Come in. I was just doing some illustrations anyway."

"Okay." Bethany slowly walked inside, looking around at the small, cramped house. It looked exactly the same as the last time she'd been here. The picture from her fourth birthday party still hung on the wall, an ever-present reminder of the horrible day that her father had disappeared.

"It's nice to officially meet you," he said, closing the door behind them. "I've been friends with your family for a long time. The last time I talked to you was when you were three!"

She raised an eyebrow. "Even my mom?"

"Yes." He laughed a little. "I know she can be strict at times, but we've been friends for years. I'm not sure why she's against you jumping into books, but she's been that way forever. Don't take it personally. She just doesn't trust the fictional world that much. It can be dangerous."

"Tell me about it," Bethany muttered. "I have so many questions. I don't even know where to start. So, what did my father do when he was, you know, in the nonfictional world?"

"Well, he spent most of his time with you and your mother. I used to come over your house, and only your mother would be there. She'd say, 'You just missed them, Murray! Christian and Bethany jumped into another book!'"

Bethany laughed, feeling suddenly nostalgic. She would give anything to jump into books with her father again. _Anything_. Somehow, talking about him like this made her feel a bit better about everything. Talking about her father was off-limits with her mother, since that always made her mother feel sad. It made Bethany even more desperate and excited to see him again once she went to the fictional world with Owen and Kiel. This time, she _would_ bring him home. At all costs.

She pointed at the picture. "Where did you get this?"

Murray followed her gaze. "Oh, that? I figured you'd notice it. Your mother sent me that picture."

"She did?" Bethany reached out to touch the framed picture, brushing her fingers against her father's red hair.

"Yeah." He coughed. "She gave me some pictures to keep shortly after your party. As you probably could imagine, I wasn't allowed to go back to your house. I could only watch over your family from outside." He moved to stand beside her. "It must be hard, being separated from your father again."

"It is," she whispered. "But I got to spend a lot of time with him in Jupiter City, when I was separated." She looked over at him. "What happened after I turned into light?"

"Let's sit," Murray said, leading her over to the living room, where they both sat on the couch. He placed his hands on his knees. "Well, your father turned back into his normal form after being the Dark, which you already know. We didn't get much time to talk, because Nobody showed up. He sent me back here before I could do anything."

Bethany's eyes grew wide. "Are you kidding? I didn't think he would've showed up so soon. And then after that he — he _separated_ me?"

"I honestly don't know," Murray said. "But yes, I'm assuming he did. It wasn't long after before I saw you — your nonfictional half. After watching over you for a while, I realized that you had been separated. I can only assume that Nobody did it. His plan all along was to keep the fictional world away from the nonfictional one."

"It _was_ him," she said, nodding. "I know it was. No one else would do it, and no one else wanted the worlds separated except him."

"Makes sense," he said in a quiet voice. He said nothing for a few long seconds, simply staring at her.

Bethany frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing," Murray said, waving her off. "It's just that . . . you used to be such a carefree kid. I feel like you seem . . . worried now. Not that I can blame you, with your father being in the fictional world and all."

"I'm fine," Bethany assured him. "There's just a lot of stuff going on right now. Things have been crazy lately. I've just rejoined myself, so now I'm trying to figure out my life. I'm getting myself back in gear before I go jumping into books again. Me and my friends are also going to head to the fictional world in a few days, to stop Nobody."

He looked shocked. "You're stopping _Nobody_? Just you and your friends? Bethany, that's incredibly dangerous. I don't think he can be beat. He's far too strong. I know you've been through a lot, but I'd hate to see you in more danger."

"I know. Me too," she said. "But the fictional world isn't doing so great. Nobody has this plan to turn everything into pure possibility, which will wipe out the entire fictional universe. All of the characters are going to die if I don't stop him, and my father is still there. He could disappear _too_." Her voice grew quiet. "I need to bring him home, once I defeat Nobody."

Murray's eyes regarded Bethany which much sympathy. "I also think you should go. But you have to be very careful around that villain. Before you do anything, maybe you should consider talking to your mother about everything that's happened. You've been hiding this for years, but I don't think you need to keep it a secret anymore, now that you've found your father. She could help you."

Bethany found herself nodding, even though she was lying again. Either way it would be a bad idea. But now that she thought about it, her mother knew more than she let on. If Bethany opened up to her, her mother might as well.

On the other hand, her mother would never let her step into the fictional world again if she told her everything. But maybe it would relieve some of her burdens. Maybe she should just tell her mother _everything_ , and make her deal with it. And then she'd get the answers she wanted about her father.

"I don't think that's the best idea," she said finally. "I need to defeat Nobody, whether she wants me to or not. She would only hold me back from going, and I can't have that happening. And I still need to bring Dad home."

"Right. But I don't think she'll be against it if you tell her about your father. She doesn't know where he's been. She'll want you to take him home."

Guilt blossomed in Bethany's chest, but she brushed it away. "Yeah, she will," she agreed. "But then she'd still keep me from going. I've been hiding the fact that I've been jumping into books ever since I started doing it, because I know that she would stop me."

He sighed. "You don't know that for sure."

"I think I do. She told me that she doesn't want me jumping into books!"

"I can't change your mind? I really think that you should communicate with her. Just let her know what's been happening. It couldn't hurt."

She shook her head. "Sorry, Mr. Chase."

"Alright." He grimaced, then smiled at her. "I tried. I know I can't stop you from heading into danger, but try to be careful when you do, okay?"

Bethany nodded.

"Is there anything else you wanted to ask?" Murray asked. "I'm always here to answer anything you have questions about."

Bethany paused, thoughts racing through her head. Where to begin? There were so many things she hadn't known about, and there were still so many things she had yet to learn. There were years and years worth of questions, all bottled up ever since her father had disappeared from her life. She knew that no one would be able to answer them except her father and mother, who had lived through it all.

"I'm not sure," she said. "I feel like none of them can really be answered, not until my father comes home."

"And he will," he said, nodding. "I know he will."

Bethany swallowed hard, unsure what to say in response to that. She wanted so badly to believe he'd come home. It was all she'd ever wished for. She rose from her seat. "I have to go, but _thank you_ for talking with me, Mr. Chase. Seriously, thank you."

Murray waved her off. "Don't worry about it. I'm here to help."

Smiling, she walked to the door and opened it. Then, something came to her mind. She whipped around. "Wait! What happened to Mason Black? Is he here, in the nonfictional world?"

He looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"He . . . he got captured by Nobody," she said. "I'm not sure how long ago it was, or if he ever returned.

"Oh," Murray said. He scratched his chin. "I never knew about that. If he got captured by Nobody, I really don't think he'd be here. Unless he came back."

"Do you think he returned here?" Bethany asked.

"He might've. Why do you ask?"

She shrugged, but an idea was beginning to formulate in her head, one that she hadn't fully grasped yet. "I was just wondering." She opened the door the rest of the way and walked outside.

"Be safe!" he called out after her. "Stop over my house if you need anything. I'm only a few neighborhoods away."

Bethany looked back at him. "Okay. I'll keep that in mind. See you later!" With that said, she shut the door and was once again alone in the cold February air, her breath coming out in clouds. There was only one thing left to do, which was to head home. She needed some time to be alone, to think and recharge. She wanted to spend at least one last day to herself before they left for the fictional world. Could anyone blame her for that?

Yes, Kiel was still in danger, but saving him could wait until tomorrow. Bethany needed to figure everything out, more in her own mind than anywhere else. There was so much going on, and she needed a few hours to do absolutely nothing.

After that, a trip to the library wouldn't be a bad idea. She needed to figure a plan out for what they'd do once they got to the fictional world, but it'd be best if she jumped into a few books first, as a practice run and a way to clear her head. Then, once she was done, she'd talk this whole plan over with Owen and Kiel. Right now, it seemed like the most reasonable thing for her to do.

* * *

Owen sat at the checkout counter, staring blankly at his math homework as he tried to do some problems. He had three years worth of school to catch up on, and since he wasn't even _allowed_ to start school yet, well, that meant he had no free time to do anything except work or study. He was working on Algebra I, since he'd missed his math classes from seventh grade up until tenth grade.

Someone placed a large stack of books on the counter, and Owen quickly moved his math packet out of the way. He peered over the side of the large stack, only to see a young boy, maybe ten years old. Owen forced a smile. "Do you have your library card?"

The boy silently nodded, sliding his library card over to Owen. He scanned it and handed it back to him. "Have a good night."

"You too, mister," the boy said, then proceeded to fit the stack of books into his small hands and walk out the door without dropping a single book.

"Impressive," Owen muttered to himself. He adjusted the strap of the cast that engulfed his broken arm, taking a moment to observe his injury. After a week it still wasn't healed. He had never broken a bone until now, so he assumed it would heal within a few weeks. He was unfortunately mistaken, and now he would have to wait a long time until his arm fully healed. He wondered if he would ever be able to sketch again, like he used to do in class.

"I'm going to start closing up," Owen's mother said, tapping him on the shoulder. "Start putting these books away. And _only_ use your good arm! No injuring yourself further!" She pointed at an enormous pile next to Owen, which he'd been ignoring all night.

He started to object, but caught sight of her face. Even when she didn't act like it, she always looked worried. She was especially clingy ever since he'd come home. He wished she wouldn't be. It only reminded him of how much things had changed in the past years he'd been gone.

Owen nodded, and she smiled, then headed into her office. Bending down, he carefully picking up a small portion of the pile, using his left hand, elbow, and chest to balance them out. As quickly as he could, he placed the books back on their shelves. He then went back to the large pile and picked up another five books, balancing them once again in his left hand. Just as he finished with the last book, something on the shelf above him caught his eye.

It was a Kara Dox book.

Owen's eyes widened, and he automatically reached up for it, taking it off the shelf and looking at the cover. His heart quickened at the sight of her. She was smiling mid-run, with the same pink hair and the same jumpsuit. He traced a finger over her face, his heart aching painfully. It had been Kara who had gotten him through the hard times in the Time Security Agency. It had been her who helped him when he was having a panic attack. It was _her_ who prevented him from feeling helpless, when he was close to losing hope.

She understood him, and she protected him . . . but she was gone now. And he missed her. He hoped she was okay after getting taken by the time agents. There were times when he almost thought he saw her, like when a girl's pink hair in the library caught his eye, but it actually wasn't Kara. Sometimes it felt like she was still around, but she never was. It amazed him how close they'd become after only a week (well, three years) of knowing each other.

The fictional would was going to die, slowly but surely. The signs were there. Owen should've realized it sooner. He never believed anything that severe would happen to the fictional world, and yet, it had. Since Bethany had been rejoined, he thought they'd have some leverage over Nobody. He didn't think it would matter if they waited a bit longer before going on the next adventure, but he was wrong.

Kiel had nearly died because the fictional world was growing weaker. Owen's friends needed him, now more than ever. He couldn't let Nobody take control over the world he loved. He was only an ordinary kid, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying.

"Um, excuse me?"

Owen turned around to see a girl, maybe a few years younger than him. She tilted her head. "Do you work here?"

"Oh, sorry!" Owen exclaimed, hastily putting the Kara Dox book back on the shelf. He scolded himself for getting so distracted. He hadn't even heard anyone come in. "Uh, yes, I do. Do you need to find something?"

"Yeah. Do you know where the Kiel Gnomenfoot books are?"

Owen grinned. "Of course. Right this way." He walked over to the fantasy isle, the path engrained in his memory. He'd been here so often that he knew where pretty much everything was, most importantly all of the fantasy book. They were his favorite genre, so it came to no surprise that he knew this section by heart.

Glancing back at the girl, he pointed to the Kiel Gnomenfoot books that were packed tightly against one another in the shelf. "There they are. Have you read them before?"

The girl shook her head. Owen reached over, plucking _Kiel Gnomenfoot: Magic Thief_ from the bookcase. He handed it to her. "You'll love it. It's about these two planets called Magisteria and Quanterium, and they've basically been rivals for generations, since Magisteria uses magic and Quanterium uses science. It's an _amazing_ series."

He put his finger on the cover, showing her the picture of Kiel. "This is the hero — well, the main one — Kiel Gnomenfoot. He's from Magisteria, and he has to go on all of these quests to find the keys and . . ." At the look on the girl's face, he stopped talking. Whoops! It was hard to control himself when introducing others to his favorite books.

"You spoiled a lot of things," the girl said, wrinkling her nose.

"Not really," Owen said. "Everything I told you should be on the summary."

She flipped over the book and looked at the summary on the back, then looked back up at him. "You're right. It's all on there."

"See? Then I didn't spoil anything!"

"You could've."

"But I didn't."

The girl hugged the book against her chest. "What was that book you were looking at earlier? When I walked over you got scared and put it away."

"What?" Owen frowned. "Oh. That was um . . . that was just a Kara Dox book."

Her face brightened. "I love those books! Books about time travel are my favorite kind. How did you like them?"

A blush crept to his face. "I haven't read them yet."

"You haven't? Why not?"

"I guess I never was interested enough," Owen said. "I prefer fantasy books."

"Well, you should read them. They're as good as you said the Kiel Gnomenfoot books are," the girl said. Without another word, she walked back towards the checkout.

As Owen watched the girl leave, he felt guilty for some reason. The feeling had never really left since Kiel told him the news about his condition. He didn't have a clue about it until this morning. He felt even worse because Kiel had decided to hide it for the sake of Owen's happiness.

It was true that he was content here. In the real world, he was safe and at peace. But he knew that he never would be truly at peace if he didn't go back to the fictional world. The break had been nice, but he was ready to go back. He couldn't stay here just because it was safe. He wanted to help his friends and their world, and he had to take down Nobody before he ruined more lives . . . if that was even possible. It had to be.

He wasn't sure if he could do anything to stop Nobody, but Bethany certainly could. Where was she, anyway? Owen was becoming increasingly frustrated that she hadn't stopped by. He'd called her from his mother's phone, but she hadn't answered or called him back. And she hadn't come to the library at all today, which was unusual for her.

What could she be doing right now that was more important than talking to Owen and saving Kiel before he disappeared? Owen had to see her, and they needed to come up with a good plan for how to stop Nobody. Kiel was currently resting at his house, so he obviously wouldn't be accessible. He hoped she'd come to the library tomorrow, because they couldn't delay this. The fictional world and their best friend's life was at stake!

"Owen!" his mother called from across the building. "Come on! I'm about to turn the lights off!"

Casting one hopeful look over his shoulder to make sure Bethany wasn't climbing out of a book, Owen accepted the disappointment that followed and rushed to the exit. "Coming!"

* * *

On Sunday, Bethany was more than ready to jump into a book again. Or so she hoped.

She'd stopped at Kiel's house again to check in on him and give him some more medical supplies. It seemed to be building his strength back up, which made her relieved. She didn't want him to suffer anymore than he already had been. Although he still wasn't back to normal, this delayed the process of him disappearing.

They'd probably be going to the fictional world today, so they wouldn't need to wait around anymore. They could finally get going.

She was in the library that afternoon. She'd been there for about an hour, scanning the isles for books to jump into. Owen wasn't here yet, so it gave her some time to practice. She definitely would need it, since she hadn't jumped into one for a couple of years.

After finding a remotely unthreatening-looking book called _The Tale of Peter Rabbit_ , Bethany held the book open and set it on the floor, staring down at it. She lifted her foot, hesitantly sticking it in. Just as her foot started to pass through the pages, forming into various words like "toes" and "heel", she quickly yanked it back out. She was shaking all over. She didn't know why.

Jumping into books used to be so easy and effortless. And now that she hadn't jumped into one for a few years . . . well, it sounded silly, but she was afraid to. She didn't know what would happen if she jumped into another book. Could she still do it as effectively? Would Nobody try to separate her again?

A few minutes later, Bethany found herself in the bathroom, splashing water onto her face. Leaning forward against the countertop, she stared hard into the white, porcelain sink. She forced herself to take slow, focused breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth. After all the nervous breakdowns she had over the past years, this exercise was something she'd learned would calm her down.

She pressed her fingers into her temple, trying to massage away the negative feelings. Why did she feel this way? How could _she_ be afraid to jump into a book? She had this power — this gift — and she was throwing it all away because she was too _afraid_?

That was ridiculous. She couldn't be this selfish. She was the only person with this ability, and she had already survived this long with it. She didn't want to feel this way, but for some reason she did. Why? She didn't have a clue.

Kiel had come here for one reason: to rejoin her two halves so that her powers would be redeemed. She needed to jump into a book. She _had_ to, if she wanted to save Kiel, defeat Nobody, and find her father.

So why was she still shaking?

Bethany willed her feet to move, to go back into the library and jump into that book. It wouldn't be that hard. It wasn't even a horror book! But her feet didn't move an inch, and at that moment she knew that her fears had gotten the best of her. She hardly understood why she was so scared. It didn't make sense. She sighed heavily and turned back to the mirror to stare at her reflection. She looked just as miserable as she felt.

A short time later, Bethany was sitting back in the library, though for an entirely different reason. She was in the children's section, which seemed to be the only part of this place that never failed to comfort her. She distracted herself by writing bullet-points about Nobody, who she knew she would have to face eventually.

The more Bethany tried coming up with ideas, the less they came to her. There had to be _some_ way to stop Nobody. Bethany knew that she was probably the only person who could have a solid chance at stopping him. By existing, she was a threat to him. She needed to figure out a plan, or a weakness that he had. Something was staring her right in the face, but she needed to figure out what it was.

"'Featureless body, manipulative, feels threatened by half-fictional girls,' Owen's voice rang over her shoulder, making her jump. "Are these notes about Nobody or Kiel?"

Scowling, Bethany snatched her notes away and shoved them into her backpack. "Very funny."

He took a seat across from her, setting a bag of schoolbooks on the table. "My mom makes me work on this when I'm working at the checkout counter," he explained.

For them, this was a usual hangout spot. While Owen was being homeschooled, he also worked at the library in the afternoons. This gave Bethany a chance to see him, which was always a relief. She had come here the moment she finished up at Kiel's, to do homework and maybe even some book-jumping . . . but the second idea obviously never turned out.

"You didn't actually come over here to do homework, did you?" Bethany questioned.

He shook his head. "I've been wanting to talk to you since yesterday. Kiel stopped by and told me what's been going on with him. I feel so bad that I didn't realize it sooner."

"I felt the same way," she said. "It's okay, I have a plan . . . but it'll mean that we have to go back to the fictional world tomorrow or the next day."

"Okay." He nodded. "I was going to say the same thing. We need to get back right away."

Bethany blinked. "I thought you'd be against it."

Owen looked mildly offended. "No! I wouldn't be _against_ it. It's a good idea, and we gotta save Kiel before he gets worse. That _is_ the most important thing . . . along with defeating Nobody."

Bethany smiled a little. She hadn't really wanted to return to the fictional world right away either, but they both knew it was necessary. Saving Kiel was the most important thing, and then they could figure everything out from there. She just hadn't expected him to _want_ to go, after all the pain he'd gone through in _Pick The Plot_. It was nice to know that he was willing to go.

"Despite all the awful things he's done, I have to admit . . . my life _has_ improved in some ways since Nobody split me in half," she told Owen, placing her hands on the table. "Not the forgetting stuff part or the Nobody taking over the world part, but my fictional self got to be with my dad. The nonfictional half of me was here, of course, but it wasn't as bad because for a while, my life was normal. For once, I _felt_ normal."

"Yeah," Owen said, looked down. "I get what you mean, but we can't forget all of the bad things Nobody did to us. He'll do worse things if we don't defeat him soon." He shuddered.

"I know. Like destroying the fictional world," Bethany said. "That's why I'm making this list, but I don't think he has weaknesses. Got any ideas?"

He scratched his head, looking lost in thought for a moment. "Huh. I don't know. He can rewrite himself into anything, which gives him a definite bonus. He could basically do anything he wants. He could do the same thing that he did to me, but I think that when you face him — you'll have a much better chance of fighting him than I did."

"Don't say that, Owen!" Bethany said, surprised he would even think that. She looked him in the eyes. "You tried everything you could to save me. Nobody is _too_ powerful, and it's not your fault that you couldn't stop him. We'll be ready this time. We both have the superpowers Charm gave us, so you have just as much advantage as I do."

Owen smiled. "Thanks. I'll try to be useful when we get there. Somehow."

"You already are," Bethany said. At the disbelief in his eyes, she added, "I'm _serious_. You know more about books than I ever have. You know pretty much every book in this library, _and_ you have your time powers! Why wouldn't that be useful?"

"I don't know." He sighed. "I'm just not a hero like you or Kiel. I couldn't even escape from the book that Nobody trapped me in. I tried to contact you so many times while I was in _Pick The Plot . . ._ but it didn't work."

Bethany bit her lip. "I'm . . . I'm sorry, Owen. If only I'd been faster — I swear I would've — I _know_ I would've gotten you out of that book the moment you got thrown in there." She shuddered, anger building up inside her. "Nobody deserves to suffer. After what he did to us, he deserves it."

"Tell me about it! Especially after he separated the worlds _and_ you."

She nodded. "So I guess that leaves us with no other option, then. I thought we'd have more time before . . ." Bethany looked around, making sure that no one else was listening. As far as she could tell, though, they were only surrounded by books. "When do _you_ think we should go?"

"Just like you said," he replied. "I think it'll be best if we leave tonight or tomorrow, once we make some type of plan. Nobody probably expects us to come after him, but I'm sure he won't expect it if all of our fictional friends are with us. It'll give us the element of surprise, you know?"

Bethany smiled. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"I agree!"

"But," she said. "We're not . . . we're not bringing Kiel."

"What?" Owen looked both hurt and shocked. "But he's a magician! And more importantly — he's our friend! Why _wouldn't_ we bring him?"

Bethany only shook her head. "We can't bring him, okay? I'm not letting anyone else get hurt."

He raised his eyebrows. "Except me?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm only letting you come because you're already talking with me about it, and because I know that if Kiel comes, he'll try sacrificing himself for us and we can't have that happening. Plus, he's fictional. If the fictional world happens to . . . disappear, what if he does too?"

"We're not going to let that happen. We already talked about this! He needs to go back to the fictional world. It's the only way we can save him."

"I know —"

"Besides, you're only half nonfictional," Owen pointed out, giving her a reproachful look. "What if half of you disappears too?"

"I don't know if it works that way," she said quietly. "Either way, we're not telling Kiel about this."

"Why not?"

She sighed. "You . . . you just need to trust me on this. I'm not being reckless anymore. We have to come up with a plan to defeat Nobody before he destroys the world."

"Yeah, but our plan would be a lot easier if it involves Kiel!" Owen said. "I get that he needs to rest, but we can't just leave him behind! Being in the fictional world is going to help him, Bethany! He sacrificed everything to come here."

" _Fine,_ " Bethany said, not having the energy to argue anymore. "So, what do we do? How do we defeat Nobody?"

"I don't really know, but I know that we _can_ figure it out if we have help. We're going to need it. We can team up with all of our friends, and with their help I'm sure we can figure something out. Each of us has some type of power, so we'll be like Marvel! There's no way we can face Nobody without some assistance. Teaming up is what superheroes do best."

"But we're not superheroes."

"Right. Not _all_ of us," Owen said, glancing down at his arm. "But I think this is a great plan. We can go to the fictional world tomorrow, once we're ready, and then we can group our friends together." He slowly started to smile. "I wasn't before, but I'm actually kind of optimistic about this. I think we'll have a good shot if we're in a group."

Defeated, she leaned back into her chair. "Okay. I guess we should have our friends with us, but I also don't want to risk anyone's life in the process. We'll have to be careful."

"Of course we'll be," he said. "It'd be worse if it was just us two. There's no way we could defeat Nobody ourselves, without outside help."

"Yeah," Bethany whispered. "Let's start planning this. I'll feel better if we have some sort of plan that we're going to follow."

Owen took out a notepad and pencil and they began brainstorming ideas for their plan, jotting down notes every now and then. They talked long into the afternoon, mulling over everything that happened and everything that probably would happen. Eventually, they came up with a decent plan about what they would do, but Bethany doubted it was very good. She kept this thought to herself, though.

At one point, a brilliant idea came to Bethany's head, but she didn't say it aloud. What if she contacted the author of Nobody's story? Owen had told her that Nobody's author was a guy named Mason Black. What if she could figure out a way to defeat Nobody all on her own?

She'd talk to Mason Black, and he could reveal Nobody's greatest weakness. The problem would be solved, and Bethany could save the fictional world without making up an elaborate plan. She wouldn't need to get anyone else in danger, either. She figured if she dragged her friends with her it would only make things harder.

"Owen?" his mother called in a worried tone. She came around the corner, an all-too-familiar worried look on her face. "Ow — Oh, thank god. Good. You're here."

Bethany felt a pang of sadness for Ms. Conners. Since Owen wouldn't be starting school until junior year, his mom wouldn't let him out of her sight. The three years of him being gone had taken up a hole in her heart, and even Owen's presence took some getting used to for her. She would always be traumatized at the idea of Owen leaving her again, which was why Bethany was reluctant about taking him on a mission to defeat Nobody. Ms. Conners would probably kill her if she found out Owen was missing again.

"Hey, Mom!" Owen said with a smile. "Me and Bethany are just hanging out."

"Oh. Alright." She looked a bit anxious, but she smiled. "I wanted to let you know that I'll be working later tonight, so you'll have to order in some food. Pizza . . . Chinese . . . whatever you want. Are you okay to walk home with Bethany?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine. It's a short walk."

"Okay. I'll see you later tonight."

She walked away, leaving Bethany and Owen alone in their own thoughts. At this point, they could understand and read each other quite well, so they didn't need to ask what the other was thinking. They knew just by the feeling that hung in the air. And as for Bethany, she felt guilty.

"Owen —" she began.

He shot her a look. "Stop. It isn't your fault that Nobody threw me into that book."

"But it is!" she protested. "Your mom is always afraid you're going to run away again, because of what Nobody did — what _I_ did. If we hadn't gone into the Doc Twilight comic books then everything would be fine. My stupid, reckless attitude ruined everything, and I wasn't smart enough about it. I know you blame me for it. I can practically hear you thinking it! If I had just stopped jumping into books, we wouldn't have had this problem. Nobody wouldn't have gotten so powerful, I wouldn't have been separated, and you wouldn't have been in that book for three years! And Kiel —" Her voice caught in her throat. "Kiel lost his _magic_ because of me. He got captured by Nobody because of me! And he had to create another link to the real world because I let Nobody split me apart! So just admit that you're done with being my friend because you know what? That's what I deserve."

She hadn't realized she had started crying, and the library had gone utterly silent. Owen was staring at her with wide, horrified eyes. Shaking her head, she slammed her palms on the table and stood from her chair, quickly scooping up her backpack.

"Bethany! Wait!" She had sprinted halfway across the library when Owen caught up to her, grabbing her by the hand.

"What?" she demanded, attempting to yank her hand away. Tears streamed down her face.

"Stop blaming yourself every time something goes wrong! You know why you kept jumping into books? To find your dad. And you found him, because of how determined you were! Without you jumping into books, we wouldn't have become friends —"

"Yes we would've."

"The only reason I wanted to be your friend in the first place was because you could jump into books."

She laughed, choking back a sob. She didn't know how much she had to hear this from someone else until now.

"Also, we wouldn't have become friends with Kiel, or Gwen, or Charm." He smiled a little at the last part, making Bethany wonder if he still had feelings for her. "Book-jumping is your entire life. Nobody is just some villain who wants control of the fictional world. It isn't your fault. It isn't."

"But it always feels like it is." Bethany's voice came out more like a whimper, and she wanted to yank her hand away and run out the door. She wanted to run forever until the sun set and rose again the next day. But she didn't.

She allowed herself to be pulled into a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around Owen. She rested her head on his shoulder, slightly leaning over since she was a few inches taller than him now. Emotions welled up inside her: anger, frustration, depression, sadness. They had been bottled up for so long, and they poured out through her tears. She cried as silently as she could, but she couldn't suppress the wracking shudders that went through her body each time she took a breath.

"It isn't your fault," he said again, rubbing her back. "All of us make mistakes."

At his words, she held onto him tighter, silently thanking him for being such an amazing friend. Bethany wanted to believe him, but she didn't know how. Her whole life seemed to be mistakes, one after the other. She didn't want anyone else to get hurt because of her. Everything that had happened to her father and her friends was because of her jumping into books.

When her crying fit was over, she pulled away from Owen, wiping her nose on her sleeve. His eyebrows were scrunched, and there was a frown on his face.

"Let's get going," she said, her voice shaky.

"Are you sure?"

Bethany nodded numbly, but it was a lie. She was far from okay. She felt so depressed that her entire heart might burst. She couldn't help but think that everything she had done up until now was her fault. The only thing that made her feel better was the thought of defeating Nobody, the villain who had taken her friends and memories away. And once it was over, she would finally bring her dad home, and she would vow to never lose sight of him again.

Owen nodded, mirroring her expression. He led her outside, and they both walked through the sliding doors, staring at their feet. "What I said wasn't completely true. We didn't have to jump into books to become friends, you know."

Bethany looked at him, sniffing loudly. A small smile grew on her face. "Of course we didn't. I have no idea why I never wanted to be your friend before. It would've been nice to have someone for those years after my fourth birthday party."

He smiled back. "Hey — I just had a great idea. Do you want to jump into _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?_ Maybe grab some candy? It would be good to take our minds off of this Nobody stuff. Ooh, or can we swim in the chocolate river? I've always wanted to do that!"

Bethany pointed a finger at him. "You are _not_ swimming in that chocolate river. But sure. It's been a while since I've jumped into a book for fun."

Owen grinned, pumping his fist in the air. " _Yes!_ Let me just text my mom. I'll tell her I'm stopping by your house to hang out or something. Who _knows_ how long we'll be in there — eating free candy, no less!"

She laughed. The idea _did_ sound tempting. And it would definitely distract her from her worries. She didn't know why, but all of the sudden, she felt like things would be okay. She'd have a nice break, and then tonight she would go see Mason Black, then hopefully would defeat Nobody all by herself.

Bethany patted him on the shoulder.

"Alright, I give in. As long as we don't interfere with the main characters or change the story. I don't want to deal with more than we've already been dealing with."

Owen laughed, and so did she. Although, for entirely different reasons. "After everything we've been through, I thought you were past all your rules."

Her laugh died in her throat. "If you think I'm past that, you're dead wrong. We still have to be careful."

"But wasn't it you who became friends with Gwen, a main character of her series?" Owen crossed his arms, cocking an eyebrow. Despite his attempts to look serious, a smile fought its way to his face.

"That's different," Bethany protested, her face heating up at the mention of Gwen. "I needed her help when we went to Jupiter City to face the Dark. Her series didn't change at all, since it was at the end of her books." Then she smirked. "But wasn't it _you_ who practically threw yourself all over Charm, who is also a main character of a book series?"

Owen blushed crimson, quickly looking away. "Bethany! That's crazy! I didn't _throw myself_ —"

She hit him in the shoulder. "Relax. I'm kidding! Actually, not really. You _do_ have a huge crush on her. Well . . . at least you did. You still do, right?"

"Yeah, of _course_ I do," he muttered, kicking a pebble with his shoe. His face was still bright red, and his head was hung low in embarrassment.

"What about Kara?"

Owen's head perked up, and he looked her in the eyes. "What about her?"

She shrugged. "I don't know . . . when I was reading _Pick The Plot_ , I got the idea that maybe you liked he—"

"NO!" Owen shouted loudly in her ear, making her jump. "Let's, um, not talk about anything you may have read in that specific book, okay? Do you know how messed up that is? That isn't cool. You were _reading my mind_."

She couldn't help but smile. "Owen, I already read your mind even _without_ the book. I know you well enough that I can sense when you're going to mess up in a book." She had meant it jokingly, as a way to ease the conversation, but her statement seemed to make everything worse.

If it was possible, Owen crossed his arms tighter over his chest. "I don't mess everything up," he whispered, staring at the sidewalk again.

Then, she realized her mistake. She remembered what she had read in _Pick The Plot._ All of Owen's insecurities were laid out, in page form. She never realized that she could relate to him until then, because contrary to popular belief, Owen had negative thoughts about himself, just like Bethany did. But she would never understand the depth of what he'd been through, and she felt bad about that. He was her best friend, and she wanted him to have more confidence in himself.

Bethany reached over and rubbed his shoulder. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned that. It's not true." He gave her a surprised look, and she sighed, forcing a smile. "How about some Willy Wonka?"

Owen returned the smile, making her feel a bit better about things. She didn't want to mention anything about her being scared to jump into books, but as long as her best friend was with her when she did it, she didn't think it'd seem so bad.

* * *

 _"_ _You're my all and more. But I need room to breathe, yeah . . ."_


	22. The Solo Journey

**Come _Back For Me (by Jaymes Young)_**

 _"_ _Oh, whatever you do, don't come back for me. After all I've bled for you . . ."_

* * *

After an exciting trip to _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ (and being warned many times that he could eat, but he could _not_ swim in the chocolate river), Owen returned to work an hour later, making up an excuse to his mother that Bethany had a stomach virus and needed help. He hated lying to his mother, but he didn't want to get into any more trouble. He was still gaining his mother's trust — and his freedom — back. He wanted to be on his best behavior until they went to the fictional world.

He felt bad about leaving his mother again. Often, she looked worried. He knew he'd caused it, because she never used to get anxious before. It always made him feel guilty to see her that way. He never wanted his mother to suffer because of him — because of Nobody's actions. Owen would come home this time; he promised himself that. They probably would only be gone for two days or three, but no more than that.

Owen had chosen to work later tonight instead of going home at 5:00 to eat dinner. Usually, he went home with his mother anyway. She always worked late, so Owen constantly found himself either eating in the library or going home early to eat.

He wished Kiel would come to the library. He hadn't for three days, but only because he'd been at his house, taking fictional medicine and resting until they went back to the fictional world. That made sense. The threat of disappearing couldn't be taken lightly, and Bethany had told Kiel that he shouldn't move too much, to avoid getting worse.

Owen wished he could call Kiel, but since the boy magician didn't have a phone it couldn't be helped. He was considering stopping over Kiel's house just to spend time with him until his mother made him come home, but he was still grounded, which meant he couldn't go anywhere without telling his mother and getting permission from her. Also, he was always working from early afternoon to nighttime, so he didn't know if he'd be able to.

"Hey, Owen, can you put these books away?" his mother asked, dumping a small pile of books on the checkout counter. "I'm locking up, but I have a few things to take care of in the office after that."

"Sure," Owen replied, inwardly groaning. He pushed his schoolwork aside and used his non-injured hand to steer the pile to the edge of the counter. Once he was done, he gingerly placed the books into his hand, struggling a bit from the weight. That was the main thing that bothered him about his broken arm. Carrying books used to be much easier with two arms, and using one meant that it took ages to put each book away.

He edged out of the checkout area and walked over to the romance section, where all of the books in the pile were from. Often, he read the descriptions of books just for fun, but the romance books either made him self-conscious, grossed out, or embarrassed. There was no in-between.

Of all the books in the library, the romance books were the only genre he never liked reading. That, and the boring books about school or cooking or travel. Okay, maybe books about those things were helpful, like with learning a new skill. That made sense. But what did romance books do, besides making Owen feel uncomfortable? Nothing.

Owen dropped the books in the aisle of the romance section and sorted through them. He grabbed _To All the Boys I've Loved Before_ — which sounded kinda gross, by the way — and looked around for Jenny Han's name. He spotted the books she'd written and slid the book onto the shelf. He'd never been interested in reading that book, but according to Bethany, a movie had been made for it back in August.

As he put the rest of the books away, his mind wandered to his redheaded best friend, and the things she'd said earlier. He hadn't expected Bethany to blow up like that, and it both alarmed and saddened him. He wished he could convince her somehow that none of it had been her fault, because it wasn't. It didn't make sense why she thought that.

Owen was the only one who was to blame. He'd asked Charm to give him superpowers, and he ended up in Nobody's prison. He'd gotten himself thrown in _Pick The Plot_ because of his own stupid actions _,_ but in the end, it didn't matter because he'd been able to help Bethany when she was on the quest to save her father. None of it was her fault. It was Owen's for getting himself trapped by Nobody.

But the clear truth was, it was all Nobody's fault. He was the obvious person to blame, after everything he did. At least Owen and Bethany could agree on _something_.

Bethany was an innocent girl who only wanted to find her father. Sure, a lot of times she could be reckless, but she never did anything terrible. But for some reason, Bethany seemed convinced that she was the cause of all the struggles Owen had gone through. He didn't really see how that made sense, but arguing with her about it didn't seem to help, so he'd let it go.

He finished up with the romance books and walked over to the children's section to organize everything. As usual, it was a mess. Books always ended up scattered all over the floor, normally around the Rick Riordan books. Sighing, he bent down and got to work, setting aside some books that looked interesting and placing other books in piles.

There were many times when Owen had to stack the piles on top of already-filled shelves, since the children's section was always crowded with too many books. This gave Owen an opportunity to pick out the books he wanted to read and take them home, which helped organize things a little.

Once the children's section finally looked a bit neater than before, Owen grabbed the books he'd taken out of the pile and tucked them under his arm. He hurried back to his mother's office, where he found her locking the door. She turned around. "You ready to go? Did you make sure the children's section is clean?"

"Yeah."

His mother raised her eyebrows, giving him a look. "Are you sure?"

"Of course," Owen said, rolling his eyes.

"Okay, great." She walked to the front doors, and he followed, still carrying the books. She opened the door for him, and he quickly flicked off the lights before walking through.

"What books do you have there?" his mother asked, pointing to the books he was carrying.

"Oh, um . . ." Owen looked down at the covers. "These are just random books I got from the children's section. I got _The Boundless_ , _Artemis Fowl_ , _Aru Shah and the End of Time_ , and _A Crack in the Sea_." He shrugged. "I don't know. These all look interesting to me."

"They sound like it," Owen's mother said. "I haven't read any of those, except _Artemis_ _Fowl_." She smiled. "Do you know how terrible it would be if you didn't like books? It's a good thing you aren't like most boys, Owen. All most boys care about is sports."

Owen wasn't sure whether that was a compliment or not, so he just gave her a strained smile. "Thanks?"

She clicked a button on her keys, causing her car to light up and make two short beeping noises. They opened the doors and climbed into the car, which was still quite cold. His mother started the car and turned on the seat heater, but it took a while to feel the effects of it, and Owen was still freezing.

They made it home in less than ten minutes, since the drive was always short depending on traffic. His mother pulled into the driveway, and pushed a button to turn the car off. Trying to hide his shivering, Owen pushed the heavy door open and stumbled out of the car. He hurried to the front door and stood there, stamping his feet as he waited for his mother to open the door.

As usual, it was freezing at night. Owen never liked the cold, and he couldn't bear to be outside for more than five minutes unless he was bundled in layers upon layers of clothes. He stood next to the door, wishing his mother would hurry up and open it already. She finally walked over, having finished doing whatever she'd been doing, and fit her house key into the lock, opening the door.

Barking filled Owen's ears, and a grin formed on his face. He was in the middle of taking off his shoes when Bark Vader ran over, skittering across the floor in her excitement. Owen laughed as the dog barreled into his legs, almost knocking him over. "Nice to see you, too!"

Owen crouched down and petted his dog, unable to stop smiling as Bark Vader licked his face and hair. When she was finally done, the dog raced over to Owen's mother, who was in the kitchen.

Still smiling, Owen turned on the hallway lights, which made everything easier to see. He removed his shoes and clambered up the stairs to put his books away. He passed by Spike, who was wandering around upstairs, and opened the door to his bedroom. He walked over to his shelf of intact books and kneeled down to put the new books on the shelf.

He wasn't sure when he'd have time to read them, but it was nice to have a growing collection. Once all this Nobody business was done, he was certain he'd have a lot more time to read. Assuming he wasn't doing schoolwork, of course.

After he finished putting the books away, he stood back up and walked out into the hallway, descending the stairs and walking into the kitchen. His mother was setting up dinner on the table, which was an assortment of food from a Chinese restaurant they'd ordered from. He sat down at the table as his mother did the same.

"Do you know how Bethany is feeling?"

Owen had been in the middle of drinking water, but when he heard her question, he nearly choked. Caught off guard, he blinked, setting his cup down. Had she seen Bethany crying? Even worse, had his mother heard what she'd been shouting about? "What?"

His mother stared at him. "With her stomach bug."

"Oh." Owen let out a relieved breath. He looked down at his food. "I think she'll be okay soon. I hope so. She was, um, throwing up a lot."

"That's too bad," his mother muttered. "Do you think she got food poisoning?"

"Maybe," he said, cringing as he said it. Sometimes, it was necessary to make up excuses, but he didn't like the feeling that came with it.

Obviously, Bethany didn't have a stomach bug; that'd been a lie. But emotionally, she didn't seem like she was okay. When they jumped into _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ , she seemed a lot better, but Owen knew that sadness didn't go away that quickly. He hoped that whatever she was feeling right now, it would pass.

* * *

As it turned out, jumping into _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ had ended up working out perfectly fine. Afraid she might start crying again, Bethany hid her fear throughout the whole process of jumping into the book. But holding Owen's hand gave her more courage, and before she knew it, they were in Willy Wonka's factory, surrounded by candy. They stayed there for about an hour, Bethany feeling a lot more relaxed as they sat behind the chocolate river, watching the Oompa-Loompas work.

She hadn't expected herself to feel so relieved. Finally, she had jumped into a book after three years of being separated from them. It was just like relearning a skill; sometimes, if you haven't ridden a bike for a few years, you'll be afraid to, but once you do you'll feel much better.

Now that she'd safety jumped into a book without anything remotely dangerous happening, Bethany felt more confident now. She was scared before, but now she knew that she could handle it. A piece of her felt like it'd been missing, but now it wasn't, since she had finally jumped into a book. Jumping into books _was_ that easy, and it always made her feel at peace when she was in _Goodnight Moon_ or _The Little Prince_.

Nobody hadn't showed up, which had been an enormous relief. She half-expected him to. Since he hadn't, that also meant that she would be safe the next time she jumped into a book — unless she confronted Nobody. Her power wasn't a curse, and it was no longer something she was afraid to use. She was glad that all of those negative emotions regarding her half-fictional powers were behind her. She wasn't scared anymore, not of this.

Bethany sat in her bedroom, dumping the schoolbooks out of her backpack and filling it with some necessary items, like her phone charger, a flashlight, a clean set of clothes (just in case), _Doc Twilight,_ and a water bottle. Not only did she want to be prepared for her solo trip to the fictional world tomorrow morning, but she wanted to have everything organized if things went sour.

She was going to visit Mason Black tonight, and she wasn't telling anyone about it. It'd been on her mind ever since yesterday. It was risky, since she didn't know where he lived or if he was in the nonfictional world, but she hoped he would be. If he was, she could get answers about Nobody and the weaknesses he had. Then, before anything worse happened to Kiel or anyone else, she would go defeat Nobody on her own.

With her luck, it would all work out. Bethany wasn't a very hopeful person, however, so she had her doubts. The thought of fighting Nobody sent shivers down her spine, and maybe even a little excitement. She'd be fighting the man who took her father away, the man who made her friends suffer. There had to be a simple way to stop him by herself, because the last thing she wanted to do was put her friends in danger.

If Bethany defeated him singlehandedly, no one would blame her for anything ever again, since they'd have no room for anger. She'd be Twilight Girl, the hero they needed. The fictional world would be restored forever, and her friends would be safe. Kiel wouldn't disappear, and her father could come home straight away. If this worked, all of her problems would be solved.

 _You shouldn't go behind your friend's backs like this. They won't forgive you,_ her guilt said.

 _After everything he did, Nobody deserves to be destroyed_ , her anger said. She listened to that side. She couldn't think about her friends right now. She had a mission to go on, and there was no way she'd ever back down now. This was an opportunity that she couldn't push aside.

Once Bethany was done packing, she zipped the backpack closed and slid it over her shoulders. She'd already grabbed some money from where it was stored away in her closet, so she was fully prepared for two bus trips.

She made her way downstairs. The house was eerily silent, which made her even more nervous. This was _such_ a bad idea.

She was completely going against everything that her and Owen had agreed on earlier. Owen thought they were going to the fictional world as a group. But Bethany knew that would take too long. This was the quickest and easiest thing she could do right now, and maybe it would work.

As the sun slowly crept towards the horizon, Bethany cast one last look over her shoulder before opening the front door and stepping outside. She felt even more guilty that she was not only lying to her friends, but also to her mother. She'd been doing it for so long that she'd gotten used to it, but Murray's words stuck in her head.

Knowing that Bethany would be telling her excuses for the next few days — or possibly even weeks or months, made her want to spend time with her when she happened to be at home. But once she had to lie about her actions, like right now, she'd have to keep her distance.

Luckily, her mother wasn't at home, so Bethany didn't need to make up another lie about where she was going. Her mother would never find out, since she got home from work so late. As long as Bethany was home before her mother, she'd be fine. Then, once she had a plan set, she'd go to the fictional world tomorrow morning once her mother left for work.

She'd be skipping school to do it, but that was the least of her worries. School could wait. This couldn't. Defeating Nobody was far more important, and Bethany could handle it if she had to get detention. She'd gotten it a few times when she was in middle school, so it wasn't a huge problem.

Walking to Murray Chase's house only took about ten minutes or maybe a few minutes more. Bethany placed her hand on the railing as she climbed the porch steps. She rapped her gloved hand on the door. "Mr. Chase, are you there? It's Bethany!"

The door swung open, revealing the illustrator of the Doc Twilight comics. After a second of staring at her in surprise, he smiled. "Hello Bethany. I wasn't expecting to see you so soon. And so late! Is there something you need?"

"Yes," she said, shivering slightly from the cold. "I need to ask you something. Do you know Mason Black's address?"

Murray's eyes widened. "You want Mason's address? Why do you want to know that?"

She let out a frustrated breath. "I need — I just need to see him."

He gave her a long look. "Bethany, I can't just give you his address without knowing what you're planning to do. If you want to ask more questions about your family, you could easily ask me or your mom."

"No." Bethany shook her head. "I want to see _him_. I can't . . . exactly tell you what I'm doing. But I promise, it's not anything dangerous. I just want to check if he's okay. You know, since he was captured by Nobody."

"He lives about two hours away," Murray said slowly. "You want to visit him? Just to see if he's . . . there?"

"Yes. No. Maybe, okay?" She cringed. "I just need to see him. Yesterday, you _said_ you'd help me with anything I need. And I need this! Can I please have his address?"

He sighed. "Okay. I'll give it to you. But whatever you're doing, I hope it's safe. I'm your guardian. I'd hate for your mother to yell at me when she sees you're doing something you shouldn't be."

She smiled nervously. "Trust me, I'll be home before she even knows I'm gone."

"You're going _tonight_?"

"Yeah." Why had she said that? She wanted to slap herself. There was no way he'd give her the address now!

Murray continued to stare at her, looking like he was ready to grab her. But then, he pulled out his phone. "Ready to hear the address?"

Still shaking from both nerves and the cold, Bethany grinned and whipped out her own phone. She took off her gloves and stuck them into her coat pockets before typing the address into the notes section of her phone. When she was finished, she slid it into her pocket.

"Remember to be safe," Murray reminded her. "I'm not happy about this. I'm not going to help you, but I'm not going to stop you, either. I know your father would've let you go, as long as you're doing what you believe is right."

"I know," Bethany said quietly. "I do believe this is right. I hope so, anyway." She pulled her gloves back on. "I'll be safe, I promise."

"Good." He smiled. Saying nothing else, he closed the door shut and left her alone.

The half-fictional girl stood there for a moment, wondering if her father really would've let her go that easily. There was no way of knowing. When she lived in the fictional world, her father had always been protective of her, but he allowed her to fight her own battles and ask for help if she needed it. Unlike Bethany's mother, her father would never restrict her from doing what she believed was the right thing to do.

A twenty minute walk later, Bethany made it to the Greyhound bus station. It was the closest place she was able to go for transportation, and she had never used Uber before, so that wasn't an option. The man behind the ticket booth looked bored, but straightened up in an authoritative manner as Bethany approached. Straightening her shoulders, she slid twelve dollars across the counter.

"Where are you headed?" asked the man sternly.

She told him the name of Mason Black's town, which luckily wasn't too far from where she lived. Murray had said that Mason lived two hours away, so she figured she could go to and from there and still make it home before her mother found out.

The man took the twenty dollars and rummaging through the cash register. He handed her some leftover money and a bus ticket. "You meeting your family or something?"

She nodded, wiping her sweaty hands on her pants. "My father lives there. I'm meeting him because my mother can't drive me today." The lie was easy enough. Her mother couldn't drive her since she was at work. In fact, she'd probably have a fit if she knew that Bethany was doing this.

The man gestured for her to get on the bus, and she sighed in relief. She exited the small building and climbed onto her assigned bus, taking a seat near the back row. Over the next ten minutes, the bus slowly started filling up with people. All of them were adults, which made it even stranger that a fifteen year-old girl would be riding a Greyhound bus by herself at five o'clock — nearly nighttime — on Sunday.

She ignored the newcomers and looked out the window, imagining the conversation that she'd have with Mason Black . . . if he was even in the nonfictional world. If he wasn't then this trip would've been a waste of time. Mason was Nobody's author, so he had obviously created Nobody, and would know just as easily how to defeat him. At least, she hoped he would. He was her best shot for now.

A long bus ride later, Bethany arrived at the bus stop of Mason Black's town and was deposited onto the sidewalk. It was already dark out, and there were lights on in the buildings surrounding her.

She held up her phone to read the address again. Checking to see if the street was correct, Bethany began walking through the town, which had many shops and townhouses along the road. People walked down the street, either in groups or by themselves.

Bethany kept her head cast to the ground as she walked past each person she came across, afraid they might try to send her home or call her mother. She doubted that would happen, but she was nervous enough as it was. She continued on along the sidewalk, her eyes on the path ahead of her. She continued on until she saw a small house, which was labeled with the number 47 on the mailbox.

"This is it," she told herself, placing her phone into her pocket. She stood there, gazing at the house and trying to summon her courage. Taking a deep breath, she adjusted the straps on her backpack and marched up the front steps, narrowly tripping over a huge stack of unread newspapers. Eyeing the door warily, Bethany lifted her hand and quickly knocked. For a full two minutes, nobody answered. She lifted her hand and slapped her palm against the door over and over.

"Hello?" Bethany shouted, lowering her hand and pressing her face against the window to see better. "Mason Black?"

The doorknob jiggled, and she darted back as a man opened the door. There was a scowl on his face. "What do you want?"

"N-No one knows I'm here," she said, nervously playing with the straps of her backpack. "I need to know about your character, Nobody."

He had a brooding look on his face and did not reply at first. Instead, he stood there and stared at her with anxious eyes, his hand wavering at the door. "Who are you?"

She swallowed hard. "Bethany Sanderson."

His eyes widened. "Bethany . . ." He looked left and right, then looked back at her. "How are you here? He said he'd take matters into his own hands and get rid of you."

"Yeah, he tried," Bethany said. "He, um, separated my two halves. But I rejoined myself together." He said nothing, quietly taking in her words with wide eyes. She stared at him. "I know you're Nobody's author. I need to know his history. And I know you've been harassed by him. I need to know everything about him. Even the tiny details. I'm going to defeat him."

"History?" he spat. Despite his tone, there was a glimmer of hope in the author's eyes. "I'll tell you much more than just his history. I'll tell you how to lock him up . . . for good."

A relieved smile blossomed on her face. "Mr. Black, you have no idea ho—"

"Come inside," Mason interrupted, backing out of the doorway and turning around. Cautiously, she followed him into the dimly-lit house.

The house was a mess, to put it simply. Empty cans of soda were overflowing in the trash can, and dirty clothes were flung over the floor. There was a small, worn-out couch next to the kitchen, with random objects stacked on top of it. The room had a musty smell to it, as if the windows hadn't been opened in years. On a table next to the couch was a stack of Mason Black's comic books, which were mostly Doc Twilight comics, from what Bethany could see.

Mason sighed, kicking some clothes closer to the walls. "This is all a mess. I wasn't expecting company tonight. Take a seat wherever you want."

His tone was more indifferent than welcoming, but Bethany didn't take it to heart. This was a serious, professional matter, and no warm feelings had to be involved when they were plotting against Nobody. She respected that. There was no time to be tardy when learning how to get rid of an evil faceless man.

"I heard you were captured," Bethany said, her eyes on Mason. "By Nobody. Is that really true?"

He sighed in response, still rummaging through his things and making an attempt to clean up the house. Deciding he probably didn't want to talk about it, Bethany changed the subject.

"Where did Nobody come from?" she asked, slowly easing into the couch. "I heard some things from my friend and when I read the Doc Twilight comics myself, but I'm not one-hundred percent sure about the facts. Where did he begin?"

"He started off as he's always been," Mason said, picking up a pile of comics and displaying them at her feet. He sat down next to her. "I wrote him to be one of the bad guys in the Doc Twilight comics. I didn't give him a name. Really, I didn't give any of the background characters a name. That was before I knew he was . . . real."

Bethany shuddered at the thought of Nobody. He continued talking. "I stopped writing the Doc Twilight comics a long time ago, but I didn't realize he became his own author. You see, he was merely a henchman in the gangs that the heroes would fight. He wasn't a major character at all, and he didn't even have a name. He came to me once, asking to rewrite him into a hero. I refused, because you can imagine how crazy that sounds, can't you?"

"Anyway," he continued. "He somehow learned to rewrite himself. He took control and did whatever he wanted, shapeshifting into _whoever_ he wanted. I don't know how, but he managed to escape and had gained the power to travel back and forth between any book."

"How did you find out about him being real?" Bethany asked.

"He came to me," the author said, slowly rubbing his eyes. "It's a foggy memory, but he somehow got into my house and begged me to rewrite him. That was the first time he visited. The second time, he took me to Jupiter City and tried forcing me to rewrite it into a new world. I refused, of course. It would be crazy to agree with him. In response, he locked me up in this prison of his. He threatened my very well-being if I tried to rewrite him and put a stop to his plans. I'm his author, so I'm the only person who knows his weakness. I could've stopped him if I wanted. But I was so afraid, so I did what he said. For a while, I was in this white room with nothing around. I didn't know how long I'd been in there before Nobody returned me back to my world. He warned me to never do another reboot of the comics."

"That's terrible," she breathed, feeling pity and horror for the man. She stared at the comics that were laying on the ground. "Do you have any ideas for how I can get rid of him? What are his weaknesses, if any?"

Mason looked at her in disbelief. "I wrote him as a henchman, only trained to do evil. But he's unstoppable, now. He's sneaky, manipulative, and terrifying. He isn't to be messed with."

"I still need to know. If you know any ways of killing him, it would be helpful."

He frowned. "I can guess what his weakness is . . . but now everything is different. He has the ability to rewrite himself, and he's no longer in his original story. I'm assuming that he got rid of his weaknesses."

Bethany was growing impatient, but she tried not to show it. She needed to get the information. "Either way, weaknesses are still weaknesses. Everyone has them. You told me that you know how to lock him up. So, do you?"

Mason sighed. "In the comic books, there's something the heroes used to do that can lock the bad guys up." He picked up the comic book and started rifling through the pages. "It's like any classic lock-up you'd read in a book, except you need these special, magical chains to do it. And you have to do it somewhere vacant, away from the hustle of the city."

"Where would that be? A warehouse? An abandoned building?"

He shrugged indifferently. "Doesn't matter. The heroes locked the enemies up once this way, but I had to write someone to break them out. If you do it correctly, Nobody won't have the power to break free unless someone from the outside breaks him out." He stopped at one page and put a finger on it. "Here. You lock Nobody up with the chains — you banish him. He won't be able to free himself, especially if you put him somewhere that no one would ever find him." He held a hand up. "Now, I'm not guaranteeing that it'll work. There's still a chance that it won't. But as long as you successfully lock him up with the chains, I don't think he'll be able to."

"So . . . it won't kill him?" Bethany asked, unable to hide the disappointment in her voice. "I was hoping there'd be something that would kill him."

Mason shook his head. "I've never written about anything that would kill him, so I wouldn't know. I only made up these chains once, to make the villains go through a hard time before they escaped and fought more battles. I should've written him to be lacking in intelligence. He's too smart for his own good."

 _You definitely should've_ , Bethany thought.

He handed the comic book to her. "Here is the scene about locking the criminals up. All you have to do is wrap the chains around them, then lock it in place."

Bethany studied the page. A shadowy figure declared, "These chains are indestructible! All villains will be locked up with them!", which appeared in a small square bubble. Three henchman were struggling against the chains, but once they were locked in place, they weren't able to escape. Her eyes flitted back and forth to the words on the page, just so she could reread it. Aside from the chains locking the criminals up, there wasn't much else going on.

Surprised, she glanced at Mason Black. "That's it? That's the only scene where the chains are locking up the villains?"

He scowled. "It was from one of my first Doc Twilight books, alright? I didn't have many creative ideas back then. Were you expecting it to take up a few chapters? I write comics, not long fiction novels."

She shrugged and put Nobody's comic book in her backpack before standing up. "Where are the chains?"

"They're right where the villains left them after they escaped the first time. They're in a secluded prison."

"Wait — criminals escaped from them?"

"Only if they've been let out," Mason said. "Theyre impossible to escape from if you're trapped on your own. The chains are on an island called the Island of Darkness. It's always nighttime there. It's way past the city, where the lake is. You won't miss it."

"Creative name," Bethany muttered sarcastically to herself. She turned to the author. "But there's something I don't understand. I lived there, in Jupiter City. I never even heard of that prison. We stuck all of the criminals in jail."

"That's because it's abandoned," Mason said. "Not many people know about it. It was there for the criminals who were spending the rest of their lives in prison. Not many people know about the chains either, since they haven't been used in decades."

Bethany nodded. "Mr. Black, thank you for speaking with me. You've been much more helpful than anyone else."

He smiled for the first time that day. "Wait to thank me until after the chains work. He's a tricky character to lock up. But — don't go alone. Bring your friends to help. The chains are heavy."

"I will," Bethany lied, thinking that dragging her friends with her was the last thing she would do. She said goodbye and hurried to the door, pushing it open. She walked back out into the cold weather, her face stinging. She pulled her coat tighter around her as she journeyed back to the bus station, where a single streetlamp gave enough light to see by. She sat down on the bench, a plan slowly formulating into her head.

Tomorrow morning, she would find the page about the Island of Darkness, jump into it, and retrieve the chains. Then, she'd go to a quiet setting and lock up Nobody with the chains. She had to admit — she was terrified to see Nobody again. But she needed to. She needed to stop him from destroying the fictional world, and she couldn't involve anyone else. This entire thing was her fault, so it was up to her to fix it.

* * *

Owen sat on the floor next to his bed, Spike and Bark Vader at his side as he flipped through a book. That morning was another occasion where his mother was working the morning shift and would be coming home in the early afternoon, so that gave him some time to do what he wanted. He figured it'd be a great idea to read while his mother couldn't catch him and force him to do schoolwork. He really hadn't had many opportunities to do it.

As bored as he tended to get when he stayed home alone, he was secretly glad that he didn't have to attend school. Owen only wanted to go to school so he could see his friends all the time, but other than that he would _definitely_ prefer to study when he wanted to. He didn't miss school very much, that was for sure. It was so boring. There weren't any teachers to yell at him or awkward lunch periods to go through anymore.

He didn't really like the idea of returning to school for his junior year. He'd missed so many years of school, and it would feel weird to return to an entirely new setting that wouldn't be seventh grade middle school. Even after a week of knowing this, it was still hard to accept it. He wouldn't even be starting high school as a freshman. He'd be a junior, and he only had one year from now before he had to start looking at colleges. He was supposed to have several years before that happened! It was frustrating.

Focusing on the future scared him, and even made his head hurt, so Owen dropped his train of thought. He turned his attention to something that would happen in the very near future, which was when he, Bethany, and Kiel would go to the fictional world together. He and Bethany had come up with a plan, and agreed that they should leave today or tomorrow. It'd have to be as soon as possible, since Kiel's life was at risk. He didn't want his friend to get worse.

As far as plans went, theirs wasn't very detailed but Owen knew it would be fine, since it involved grouping their friends together and fighting Nobody. That idea made him more excited than he'd admit. Finally, he'd be apart of a real group, almost like a group of superheroes! Each of them had some type of special ability or power, so as a team they'd be even stronger.

Owen could only hope that it would work. Each of his friends seemed to be capable in a fight, except maybe Owen himself. Kiel the hero would actually solve things and win fights, unlike Owen, who hadn't much experience with that. Although Bethany said otherwise, he especially didn't think he'd be useful with his broken arm. He had time powers, yes, but how could he fight with them?

The only thing he could do was try to be the hero that the fictional world needed him to be. The role shouldn't be too hard to play, since he'd do anything and everything he could to defeat Nobody. Despite his huge imagination, Owen couldn't imagine the fictional world ever disappearing. What would truly happen if the things he loved — books, movies, etc. — just disappeared? What would happen to the people from those fictional worlds?

He didn't want to think about it. All of his friends would disappear forever, and he'd never see them again. Kiel would disappear, and so would Kara. _Charm_ would disappear. He couldn't let that happen. Ever. Even if he couldn't do anything useful, he _had_ to try. Even though he wasn't a hero or a popular book character, he still would. He wasn't going to sit around and let the fictional world vanish due to Nobody's pure possibility.

The thought of facing Nobody again made him uncontrollably nervous, but he felt more hopeful about it this time around. He would have his friends by his side, and they'd fight him as a team. He knew that Nobody would be furious, there was no denying that. Owen could care less if Nobody's crazy plans were ruined. Destroying him was the goal, and as long as everything went smoothly, Owen would do that. He wasn't sure if it'd even work out, but he'd try until the very end.

Despite his uncertainties and nerves about facing Nobody again, Owen was glad he was going back to the fictional world. The last time he'd been there hadn't been a fond memory, since he was being chased by hundreds of dinosaurs, along with lava that had erupted from a volcano. This time, he'd be with his friends, and they'd probably have an awesome adventure leading up to their fight with Nobody. Owen could picture it in his head.

He'd obviously reunite with Kara, if she could be found. That'd be the first thing Owen would do once he got to the fictional world. The thought of seeing her again brought a strange, fluttery sensation to his stomach. He'd imagined their reunion so many times, but each one seemed unlikely. The reality that he could be seeing her tomorrow made him smile. He missed her.

Once he rescued her from wherever the time agents had locked her up, he'd make sure she'd never get put into prison ever again. She didn't deserve that kind of treatment; no one did. And hypothetically, once the fictional world was saved, Owen would finally take her to the nonfictional world, like he'd talked to her about. It was hard to imagine that ever happening, but he hoped that it would someday.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized the reality of the situation. Either today or tomorrow, Owen would be in the fictional world instead of here. Everything was happening so fast, and Owen could barely acknowledge it all. Soon enough, he could be fighting villains or saving lives, or even meeting his favorite characters, if that ever happened. He wondered what he'd be doing tonight or tomorrow. Which world would he be in? Would he see Charm?

A small "meow" startled Owen from his daze, and he looked up to see Spike staring at him. Just as he set down his book and reaching over to scratch his cat around the ears, Spike darted out of the room.

"Hey, where are you going?" Owen called. He got to his feet and walked out of the room, only to see that Spike was at the top of the stairs, waiting for him. He stared at the cat. "What? Do you want to go outside or something?"

Spike turned his head to the stairs and flew down them. Owen sighed. He saw where this was going. Just like many cats, Spike sometimes liked running around outdoors. Owen never knew what his cat was doing during that time, but he always came back an hour later.

He followed Spike down the stairs and to the front door, where his cat stood back, staring at Owen with expectant eyes. Owen opened the door, and Spike walked out into the grass, momentarily stopped walking, then vanished on the other side of Owen's house.

As Owen stood there in the doorway, a strange feeling came to him, and he felt like he was being pulled in a direction. Frowning, he pulled on his coat before closing the door behind him. Since his mother wasn't here to yell at him or lock him up, he started walking through his neighborhood, towards the strange pull that he was feeling. It didn't feel like he was being _physically_ pulled, but it was more like sense of knowing. In that moment, Owen knew he had to go in that direction, even if he had no clue what it meant.

He exited his neighborhood and turned right, continuing the way he usually went when he walked to the library. Bright sunlight blinded his vision and a chill blew through his hair, making him shiver. He continued on in a confused haze, and without realizing it, he was in Bethany's neighborhood.

That was when he saw her. Even from far away, he could tell it was her because of the way her bronze hair stood out even more in the bright morning light. Wasn't it Monday? Yes, it was! So why was Bethany walking through her neighborhood at nine o'clock in the morning? What was going on?

"Bethany!" Owen shouted, running after her. "Where are you going?"

Bethany glanced behind her, allowing Owen to see a glimpse of her surprised expression before she turned back around. She didn't stop walking. "Nowhere important. Go home, Owen!"

Owen caught up with her, snatching the object from her hands faster than she could react. It was a Doc Twilight comic book. "Wait . . . are you going to Jupiter City? Why?" He moved to stand in front of her, walking backwards as she continued walking forwards. "You said you wouldn't bring your dad home until we stopped Nobody." He grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop. "What are you doing?"

She looked at the ground, her eyebrows stitched together. "I'm going to Jupiter City. I visited Mason Black yesterday."

"You did _what_?" Owen's mouth dropped open. She was there yesterday? "Wait — the writer of the Doc Twilight comics? The guy who created Nobody? He's _here_?"

Bethany cringed, then nodded. "You, uh, weren't supposed to know until I came back from Jupiter City. He told me a way I can defeat Nobody. It's something the heroes used to use to lock up villains in the comic book . . . and I figured it's our best shot at getting rid of Nobody, since he's from the Doc Twilight comics." She took the comic book from him and turned to a page, showing him it as she filled him in on her plan.

Owen stared at her. "This is worse than one of _my_ ideas. Why didn't you tell me about this? What happened to all of your rules? Do you even remember how badly things went the last time we faced Nobody?"

She nodded. "That's why I'm going alone. Nothing can get any worse than it already has, but I know if I bring anyone else that would only lead to more problems. So it's not an option for you to come with me. I'll be perfectly fine. I can handle myself."

"Right," Owen said, feeling annoyed. "And Nobody will just stand there calmly while you lock him up."

"I know it won't be easy." She sighed. "But every time you or anyone else comes with me into a book it almost always messes things up. When I go alone I can count on myself. I have a _plan_."

"Oh, so you can't count on me now?"

Bethany crossed her arms. "I never said that."

"You implied it," Owen said, feeling annoyed and angry and hurt all at once. "You know, for a best friend you keep a lot to yourself."

She opened her mouth, then closed it, as if unsure what to say. Then she shook her head. "Whatever. Just go home, okay? I've got this."

"No way am I going home. I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I _am_ ," he hissed, his anger rising. "I still can't believe that you would hide something like this from me! You _said_ we'd go together! That was our plan! You think you can take down Nobody by yourself? That's stupid, Bethany!"

"I'm sorry, okay? Is that what you want to hear?" She glared back at him. "I know I should've told you, alright? Can you go now? Can we talk about this later, after I've locked Nobody up?"

He bit his lip, ready to yell some more, but he gave up. "Sometimes, there are arguments worth having. You went behind my back without telling me. _Or_ Kiel. Friends don't do that."

"I only didn't tell you because I didn't want to drag you into it," Bethany said quietly. "I don't want anyone to come with me for this. I know I can do this by myself, and I'm going to stop Nobody right now. I don't care what you say, but you're not coming. You can't get hurt. Not again."

Giving him one last look, she threw _Doc_ _Twilight_ on the ground and jumped right in.

* * *

 _"_ _Every night I look out my window. Afraid you might return for more. I miss your frozen love too much . . ."_


	23. The Chains

**_Heroes (by David Bowie)_**

 _"_ _Though nothing will drive them away. We can be heroes just for one day. We can be us just for one day . . ."_

* * *

The wind whipped through Bethany's hair as she soared through the air. First her feet, followed by her legs, then her waist were consumed by the pages of the book, transforming into words at a pace faster than Bethany could see. Suddenly, something latched onto her arm, and she was knocked off balance. There was a loud buzz in her ears as she fell the rest of the way and landed hard on her stomach.

Bethany heard a groan from her left. She lifted her hand, wincing, and a sudden realization struck her. Owen was laying on the ground next to her. He had been the one to grab her! She pushed herself into a sitting position, anger coursing through her. "Owen! I _told you_ not to come!"

"I'm not leaving," he said. "You need help. You can't do this on your own."

"Yes, I can," she said. She leapt up from the ground and grabbed his arm, pulling him up. "I'm jumping us out of here, and then I'm leaving you in the nonfictional world."

"No!" Owen pulled out of her grasp. When she tried to grab him again, he stepped away, keeping a short distance away from her. He held his hand up. "I'm _not_ leaving."

"Please," she pleaded, glancing around at the room they'd landed in. Owen couldn't be here. He would only get hurt, and she needed to take responsibility for this. "Please! You have to."

He frowned, shaking his head. "No I don't. You can't do this on your own. You need someone to help you! I'm not going to let you get split in half again."

She sighed, relenting. Owen had won, she had to accept that. She knew there wasn't anything she could do to make him leave. Even if she did, he'd probably grab her again when she jumped back in. It didn't matter. She didn't have time to waste. "Alright. Fine! Fine, you can help."

"Great," he said, not looking much happier than her. He warily walked over to her, but he still looked mad. She knew she deserved it, but she hoped he'd just forget about it and move on. She felt guilty enough as it was. "So, what's this great plan of yours? Where are the chains, or whatever they are?"

Bethany wanted to smile, but since she was still a bit angry and since he was obviously upset, she didn't. "Mason said they're on this island called the Island of Darkness. Not entirely sure where that is, but it's in a lake near Jupiter City."

"Okay." Owen looked away from her, scanning the area around them. They'd landed in the Lawful Legion headquarters, and there were voices in the distance, probably in the main hall. A rush of excitement filled her at the thought of seeing her father again. Would he be here? She didn't know, but she also didn't want him finding out about this.

Bethany silently cursed himself for not looking first before she jumped into the book. She usually _always_ looked. Depending on which page they jumped into, they could've landed in the middle of a crime scene. At least it was nighttime, so it was easier to sneak around without getting noticed.

"Where are we?" Owen asked, turning in circles as he looked around the room. Bethany realized he'd never seen it before.

"This is the Lawful Legion headquarters," Bethany said, feeling a bit prideful as she looked around at the place she'd come to a few times when she was fictional. She'd only come here for her father's meetings, but it was cool to talk to the superheroes as well. They always gave good pointers on fighting.

"It's where the superheroes meet up. The Lawful Legion is basically a group of superheroes from Jupiter City. They're kind of a big deal here." She looked around wistfully, standing still for a moment to gaze at the room. She knew that she didn't have time to lose, but being here again made her miss her fictional life even more.

"I used to come here with my father. For meetings," she added. "This is the medical bay." She pointed to the stasis chambers in the back of the room. "Those are stasis chambers. They're designed to freeze a person in time. The Lawful Legion used a whole collection of them to travel into the future once."

"Whoa," Owen said, too busy being entranced by the room to properly walk in a straight line. Finally, he tore his eyes away and followed her to the door. She moved to go outside, but he grabbed her arm.

"Wait," he said. "This is going to be really dangerous. We can't just walk into this random prison, grab the chains, and wrap Nobody in them. What if everything goes just as badly as last time?"

"Then you can say 'I told you so'," Bethany told him. She pushed the door open, holding it out for him so he could walk through. "This is going to work. It's the best plan I can think of."

"One you weren't going to tell me," Owen said, his eyes burning into her head.

She rolled her eyes. "Can we please drop it already? I'm sorry that I didn't want to tell you, Owen!" She gave him a sarcastic look. "I'm _sorry_ I didn't want you going after me and getting yourself hurt! Are you happy now?"

"You'd be the only one who's getting yourself hurt," he said, a bitter tone in his voice. "It isn't right to try doing these kinds of things by yourself. I thought you'd let me know if you were going to defeat Nobody, since I'm your _best friend_. What happened to 'we're going to the fictional world together'?"

"Ugh!" Bethany clenched and unclenched her fists, agitated. "Stop _saying_ that! I had a good reason not to!"

"Not really!"

"Yes, I did! It's not _my_ fault Kiel is going to disappear and you have a broken arm! I didn't think you should come, okay? You're not in the condition to fight."

"And you can't defeat Nobody on your own!" Owen said. "Don't you get that? He could split you apart again! You're overestimating the situation!"

"What? No I'm not! I'm being realistic, Owen! I'm the best option to defeat Nobody! You're so —" Bethany bit her lip to keep herself from yelling an insult at him, since the idea of being mean to Owen seemed downright evil, even if she was really mad.

He stared at her blankly, his jaw clenched with anger. "I'm so . . . what?"

"Doesn't matter." She sighed, the guilt pounding into her as she looked at him. Why did she keep doing this, yelling at her friends when they were doing what was best for her? Last time she'd yelled at a friend was when she was fully nonfictional, and that hadn't gone so well. She'd broken Kiel's heart; she didn't want to accidentally insult Owen and break his.

Bethany sighed deeply in annoyance. "I know I should've told you, but I wanted to do it all on my own. I'm just sick of my friends suffering because of Nobody, and I want to _do_ something about it!"

"Me too," Owen said. "But that doesn't mean you can't have help! This would be impossible to do on your own. And stupid!"

"Yeah . . ."

"If you have a group of people, or at least just one other person, you have a better chance of winning."

"I know. You're right. It makes things easier," she said, thinking back to when her, Owen, Gwen, and Charm had teamed up to fight against the Dark. "I'm sorry, Owen. I've been acting reckless. With everything going on, I haven't been thinking straight. But if there's an easy way to fix this situation . . . those chains are our best bet, you know?"

Owen was nodding, although he looked very uneasy about it. "Yeah, I _guess_ so." He looked away from her.

"I get that you're mad at me," Bethany said, trying but failing to speak in a normal tone. "But can you . . . stop being mad at me? If you're going to help me, you can't just act like that." She started to walk down the empty hallway, then paused. "You're _are_ still mad at me, right?"

"Are you serious?"

"Just checking," she muttered, her face flushed and her fists clenched in irritation. Had she really made that big of a mistake? She understood that she should've told him, but he would've found out later on once she defeated Nobody herself. Shouldn't he be glad that they were getting it over with?

No, because she had kept this a secret from him. She knew how wrong that was, but a part of her _didn't_ think it was completely wrong. Was it bad to think she could handle it herself? Probably. But she had a good reason for not telling him! Now that he was going with her, he could easily get hurt. She was sick of her friends getting hurt, Owen especially.

Secretly, she was dreading the moment they'd see Nobody again. She'd fight hard to beat him, of course, but she had too many worries to count. He was way too powerful; Owen didn't need to tell her that. She _knew_ it, but she also knew it'd be easier to do this if she was by herself. She didn't know how well this would go, but she had to tell herself that it would. It was an insanely risky, dangerous plan, and it could go wrong in so many ways. But it was a good one, and she'd gotten instructions from Mason Black himself.

Their plan wasn't promising, but Bethany hoped it would work out. It would have to. She'd come this far, and if the plan failed . . . well, Owen would hold this over her head forever. Then he'd tell Kiel, and _both_ of them would be mad at Bethany for failing. What would she do then, feel even _more_ guilty?

It'd be just like that time when she went behind their backs to see Doyle. Except this time, she would've failed to save the entire _world_. How embarrassing. And Owen would never forgive her. Or maybe he would, since he was her best friend, and they'd forgiven each other every time they made a mistake.

But that wouldn't happen. No matter what anyone said, this _would_ work. No matter how terrified she was, Bethany was determined to strike Nobody down and lock him up for good. He could _not_ destroy the fictional world, and he could _not_ hurt her friends.

Focusing on the task at hand was the best option. That was one of the many things she'd learned as Twilight Girl: channeling your anger always improves your ability in a fight. She was still a bit mad, but she knew that she couldn't keep feeling that way when Owen was only trying to help. She hoped he would stop being mad at her soon. It'd be a lot easier to think if she weren't so irritated.

Owen lifted his head to look at the building around them, not looking her in the eye. "So all the superheroes are here?"

"Yeah, usually," she said. "Why, do you wanna get some autographs?"

"No."

She scoffed. "I seriously doubt that."

Owen rolled his eyes. "I mean, _yes_. But I think we should focus on this mission first and come back later." He groaned. "This is going to be terrible. Nobody's going to _kill_ us."

"Yeah, it'll be terrible," Bethany agreed, nodding. "But we'll lock him up first, before he can stop us." She turned her head to look at him again. To her disappointment, he still wouldn't look at her. "And he won't be able to stop us, if it works."

"If?" Owen repeated, kicking his foot into the marble floor.

"When," she corrected.

"So, hypothetically, if this works, then what?"

"Then Nobody will be locked up, and he won't be able to escape."

He sighed. " _Right_."

Bethany just rolled her eyes as they walked down the hallway. The rest of the walk was silent, but Bethany purposely cast looks at Owen, who only stared at the floor with a frown. They passed by a receptionist desk, where a woman was working. She kept her eyes on the computer in front of her, not even bothering to look up. Bethany and Owen continued on until they got to the central hall of the headquarters, where the voices were coming from.

Bethany squared her shoulders, knowing fully well how this might go. Since the Lawful Legion were close with her father, that _also_ meant that they knew who Bethany was, since they'd seen her countless times. This could certainly go a couple of ways, and Bethany wasn't really in the mood to explain where she and Owen were headed.

"Since you've lived here, which way do you think we should go?" Owen asked, his eyes flickering to her for a moment before landing on the superheroes in the hall.

She shook her head slightly. "It's hard to say. I've never heard of this island, but someone from the Lawful Legion might. We should ask someone, but without drawling attention."

"We could ask your dad," he said, snapping his finger. He seemed a bit less mad now that he was distracted by the superheroes everywhere, which made Bethany glad to see. "It'll be my first chance to meet him."

"Preferably _not_ him," Bethany said quickly, furrowing her brows. "He'll want to know what we're doing, and he can't know. He'll be totally against it."

"Anyone would be," Owen said, turning to look disapprovingly at her. " _I_ am. Why don't we just talk to him?"

"Because that's not a good idea!"

"Says who?"

"Says me! I'm his daughter."

"Fine," Owen said, sighing. The bitterness in his voice made her feel worse, but she preferred that over him ignoring her. "But if we see him, we're talking to him. We don't have to tell him about this, but I at least want to meet him!"

"Okay," Bethany muttered, and they walked into the main hall. She nervously looked around the crowded room and spotted the Lawful Legion grouped together, talking to other superheroes around them.

 _Great_. If they spotted her now, they'd all crowd her at once and try to talk to her. That wouldn't be a good move, especially given the fact that her father could be here, and the last thing she wanted to do right now was tell him what she was doing. Could she just find _one_ individual to talk to who'd tell her the location of the island?

She did a quick scan around the room for anyone else to ask. She didn't see her father here, which came as a slight disappointment, but she was relieved nonetheless. Although he always supported her, she knew that he'd be against her and Owen facing Nobody by themselves. Good thing Kid Twilight — Orion — wasn't here to tell her how doomed the plan was.

"Can we ask that guy?" Owen asked, pointing at Captain Sunshine, whose back was turned to them as he talked to a superhero a few years older than them.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Bethany said. "That's Captain Sunshine, the chairman of the Lawful Legion. I'm pretty sure he'd tell my dad if he knew I was here."

"So let's find someone who _doesn't_ know your dad."

She frowned. "Everyone here would know him. All of the superheroes are famous in Jupiter City." Since no one was watching them, she nodded her head towards the door. "Let's get going. Maybe there'll be someone outside who knows where it is."

Not looking too excited about that idea, Owen cast one disappointed look around the room of superheroes before they hurried to the double doors. Bethany kept her head down until they reached the door, and she pushed it open, then held it wide for Owen.

It was nighttime outside, which was always the ideal time for stopping crime or hanging out at her father's observatory, getting a lesson from him about fighting techniques or observing the planets, or even simply spending time together. Bethany missed that. Once Nobody was rid of, she wanted to do more of that with her father, and she'd obviously bring him to the nonfictional world when the fictional world was no longer in danger.

They walked away from the headquarters and drifted towards the park in front, where other citizens were walking around. They all seemed to be in a good mood, which was expected after the city was restored from the Dark's hold. As Bethany and Owen passed by, some even smiled at them.

"Everyone here is so cheerful!" Owen observed, looking surprised. "It's so different from the last time I was here. It's exactly like a regular superhero comic book!"

"Yeah," Bethany said. "It's usually like this, especially during the day when superheroes are around. People love them."

"Makes sense. Everyone loves the superheroes for saving the city. Spider-Man, Captain America, Superman . . ." He trailed off, then glanced over his shoulder. "Should we ask someone about the Island of Darkness? They could tell us where it is." He looked at her hopefully. "Unless you want to back down from the plan and, you know, hang out with the superheroes back there?"

Bethany ignored his last comment and frowned. "Who would we ask?"

Then, as they exited the park, both her and Owen turned into the next street, only to find themselves staring at none other than the Rotten Banana.

It came as a slight surprise for Bethany to see him. She hadn't seen much of the Rotten Banana during her three years of living in Jupiter City, but she'd seen him around, either talking to citizens or signing autographs as if he were a superhero himself. That had died down a bit after the first year, but people still treated him like they would a superhero. After the villains fought against the Dark, he'd taken credit for much of it, acting as if he had contributed more than he actually had.

Bethany made it quite clear that her, Gwen, Charm, and Orion had been the ones who faced down the Dark on their own, but she didn't blame the banana for taking some credit. Who wouldn't? After all, the villains had helped them. But it was still strange to see him getting just as much recognition as a regular superhero, since he was technically a villain. Even if he _had_ saved Bethany's life a few times. She considered him a hero all the same, just . . . not exactly the _main_ hero who saved the city from the Dark.

There was a difference. And if it had to be specific, Bethany was the only one who'd stopped the Dark, since her friends had been shadow-invested. So technically, didn't _she_ deserve most of the credit? She hadn't received much of it, only because the citizens didn't know about her fighting against the Dark. They knew the stories about the superheroes and villains, not about the random girl who'd shown up with her friends.

"Bethany!" the Rotten Banana said. As always, he was wearing his banana suit, which was always amusing to see. Her and Orion used to make fun of all the costumes the villains wore. "Oops, I mean _Twilight Girl_. Sorry, I always forget to call you that!"

"It's okay," she said.

"You're _friends_ with him?" Owen asked, his face contorted in disgust. He looked at the banana man. "When exactly did _that_ happen?"

"After I helped defeat the Dark, of course!" the Rotten Banana said. "I saved her life on several occasions!"

"He did," Bethany told Owen. Then she lowered her voice. "Well, he didn't defeat the Dark specifically, but he and the other villains fought against the shadows and helped us get to the Jupiter Hill Observatory."

Owen frowned. "That's kind of unbelievable. Last I saw, my friend Charm was shooting him over and over for making banana puns."

The Rotten Banana gasped. "You know that horrible girl?"

The boy coughed. "She's not horrible. She's my friend, and you're a villain!"

"This guy is bananas!" The Rotten Banana whispered to Bethany.

She stepped away from him, grabbing Owen's arm in case he tried starting some kind of fight. She doubted he'd do that, but it didn't hurt to be safe. "Okay," she said. "Let's just drop it, okay? We need directions for getting somewhere."

"Where to?" the banana questioned. "Anywhere appealing?"

"Are you sure it's a good idea to ask him?" Owen whispered in her ear.

She nodded. "If anyone knows where it is, it would be a villain. Villains were locked up there."

"Hey, I have ears! I can hear you, and I'm _not_ a villain anymore!"

Bethany turned back to him. "We need to know where the Island of Darkness is. Have you heard of it?"

The Rotten Banana turned pale. "You want to go _there_? That's the oldest prison in Jupiter City, and it's completely abandoned. I've heard it's haunted, too."

"So you've heard of it, then," Owen said. "Where is it?"

The banana muttered something under his breath, then forced a smile at them. He pointed to the right. "Keep walking down that street for about fifty blocks, and you'll come across a lake. The island is there, and so is the prison." He shuddered. "But if I were you, I'd _split_ from that idea! What makes you want to go there?"

Bethany shrugged. "No reason."

Owen smiled a little. "I'm really sorry, but we can't tell you."

"Don't become banana paste if you're going there," the Rotten Banana said. "Ghosts are a real thing. They can hurt you, or they can even follow you home! I bet there are a lot of angry spirits in that prison, since they never escaped."

Next to her, Owen shivered. Bethany nudged him with her shoulder and smiled at him. He forced a smile back, but his smile faded, and he continued to look nervous.

Ghosts had never made much sense to Bethany. She never believed in them, not even when her father was missing and there was a chance he could be dead. When her father was gone, he was just _gone_. For ten, almost eleven years, she'd give anything for it to be otherwise. There was no trace of him anywhere until she went into the Doc Twilight comics . . . her _father's_ comics.

And now that Bethany knew where he was, she would go to the ends of the earth to bring him home, regardless of any threats. He was the most important person in her life. She refused to lose sight of him again, even though she knew where he was now.

"Don't worry, we'll be totally safe," Bethany said, smiling at the Rotten Banana. "See you later." With that, she grabbed Owen's hand and dragged him down the street, leaving a gaping Rotten Banana on the sidewalk.

Since the walk to the island would take an hour or more, Bethany morphed into a helicopter, and the rest of the journey consisted of Owen marveling over her powers. That was another thing that was new to him, she realized. She hadn't exactly used her powers since she was last in the fictional world.

Bethany continued flying, keeping low enough so she could still see the tops of the buildings and the streets below. The sky was filled with dark clouds, which only seemed to multiply as they drew closer to the water. Once she spotted the lake, she dived closer and scanned the surroundings for a sign of the island. It wasn't hard to miss. She caught sight of it in her radar and sped herself up, diving even lower once the island came into view.

"That has to be it," Owen said, leaning forward in his seat to stare at the circular screen. He was fidgeting with his cast, a worried expression on his face. She couldn't help but feel more worried herself as the realization that this was actually happening sunk in.

They were _actually_ going to fight Nobody.

The air seemed to grow a bit colder as they touched down on the surface of the island, which was entirely made from rocks. Bethany waited for Owen to go outside before transforming back into her normal form. She turned to look at the huge prison, which was about a football field away. The sight of it made Bethany start to shiver, and it wasn't from the cold.

"This is crazy! I can't believe we're doing this," Owen said, shaking his head.

"Me neither," Bethany said. "But it'll be worth it. We'll run in, get the chains, and leave. We won't be there for more than five minutes."

"I hope so," he said quietly, and he followed close behind as she set off towards the prison. It was eerily creepy, especially at night. The prison loomed before them, looking exactly like the ones in horror movies. Her hands began to shake, but ignored it and kept them at her sides.

She hesitantly pushed on the door, and it creaked in a way that made her cringe. Her heart was pounding so hard that she was certain Owen could hear it. It was dark inside, so she retrieved a flashlight from her backpack and clicked it on, which gave them enough light to see by, but not by much.

"This place is so creepy," Bethany muttered, scowling as her foot almost got caught on a cobweb.

Next to her, Owen began to make odd squeaking noises, but he bravely walked next to her. She realized too late that he might be reliving some bad memories after being in the time prison. Bethany didn't blame him; she felt more and more on edge the longer she was here, and _she_ hadn't been in _Pick The Plot_.

The prison was impossibly large, and the passages were like a maze. The jail cells they saw only made Bethany feel worse, and she couldn't stop shaking. She tried to hide it as best she could, since Twilights weren't supposed to show fear. A whistling noise echoed throughout the building more than once, which was the only noise aside from their footsteps and heavy breathing. It was clear that no one had been here in years, because a thick layer of dust coated every surface.

She pointed the flashlight's beam in every cell, hoping that the next would have the chains in them. None of them did. They all looked like regular jail cells, with the same rickety bed pressed against each wall. They kept walking, not silently agreeing to not give up until they found the magical chains.

Maybe forty minutes into their search, Owen pointed to a closed door, which was one of the few rooms they'd come across that wasn't a jail cell. "L-Let's look in here."

Bethany nodded her agreement, and held the flashlight out as he turned the knob and tentatively pushed the door open. Instead of a room, however, there was a staircase leading up to a second floor, looking dangerously unstable. She turned to Owen, pursing her lips. She didn't like their chances, but how else could they find the chains? They must be upstairs. "Should we . . . go up?"

He opened his mouth to form a response, but something behind her caught his eye. "Hey, there's another room back there!"

"There is?" As Owen walked past her, Bethany looked back at the stairs one last time before following him. Sure enough, there was a wooden door in the corner. It took a few tries, but they finally managed to pry it open, which sent a thin cloud of dust in their faces.

Both of them were coughing as they entered the room, Bethany going in first since she had the flashlight. Goosebumps formed on her arms as she whipped the flashlight around the room, straining her eyes for a sign of the chains, or even a ghost or a skeleton.

Bethany crept towards the corner of the small room, kicking a box out of her way as Owen mumbled some words under his breath. Slowly, she walked towards the wall and spotted exactly what she'd been looking for. "Wait . . ."

She looked over at Owen, and despite her fear, a wide grin stretched over her face. "Owen! I found them!"

"What? Are you serious?" Smiling, he hurried to her side, and they both knelt down in front of the chains, which were incredibly rusted and old-looking. She found them! Bethany reached out and touched her hand to the chains, feeling the hard texture.

But there was one problem, and it overlapped her joy at their success: the chains were dissolving before their very eyes.

* * *

Bethany was not at school today. By the time lunchtime rolled around and she wasn't sitting at her usual table, Kiel was starting to wonder. Where could she be? He didn't think she was sick, because during English class, Mr. Tompkins had marked her absence as "unexcused". This was very unlike Bethany to skip school, especially because she normally was a great student.

Every corner he turned, and every door he opened, Kiel expected to see her. She was normally always in his English class, and if she wasn't, he knew he'd see her at lunch. It felt strange to be at school without her. He always saw her. Even when during the month they hadn't been talking, she still was at school.

That month had been a tough time for Kiel. Majority of the time he would plaster false happiness on his face, and he'd act as he usually did, just to keep everyone convinced that he was unbothered. He wasn't sure if they were convinced, but even if they weren't he didn't say anything. Maybe he was just trying to convince himself that everything was okay.

But then, he'd see Bethany walking down the hall or opening her locker, and he'd remember, with a sinking feeling in his chest, exactly what he came here for. He was so glad that that time was over. Him and Bethany were close friends again since she had her memory back, so he no longer had to think about _that_ month. It was a part of his life that he'd rather forget.

For now, he would be finishing the school year as a German exchange student. Oliver Bines's rumors had luckily only been directed at Bethany; otherwise he might _actually_ be kicked out of the school if everyone knew he wasn't German. Kiel felt relieved that he didn't have to pretend as much as he used to, since he'd been here for three months and the other students had stopped asking him so many personal questions.

He wished that Owen was at school too, but Kiel knew that Owen's mother wouldn't allow it. He'd been missing for three years, and on top of that he had a broken arm and loads of missed schoolwork. Owen was homeschooled instead, but Kiel suspected the reasoning behind it was for Ms. Conners to keep an eye on him.

Even if Kiel knew this was for the best, he only got to see his friend once school was over or on weekends. He hadn't seen Owen since Saturday. Kiel wanted to visit him at the library during his working hours, but he hadn't had the chance to. On top of taking the fictional medicine that Bethany had given him, Kiel was brushing up on his German, as well as some of the schoolwork he'd forgotten to do.

Kiel disliked staying home, but Bethany had said he needed to rest and take it easy. After two more days of taking medicine and relaxing, Kiel was feeling much better than he had been. He still wasn't sure what he'd do if he suddenly disappeared, but luckily he had things under control now. He was handling it much better with help. He wasn't sure when they'd be going to the fictional world, but he hoped they would go tonight. He felt a lot stronger and healthier, and he was ready for some action.

He'd have to talk to Bethany when he saw her today, if he saw her _at all_. Kiel was a little annoyed at her absence, because he'd been meaning to ask her about their trip to the fictional world, since he didn't know when they were leaving. He definitely wanted to prepare beforehand, and learn some spells in his spell book. But she had failed to show up. He assumed he would have to wait until the end of the day to talk to her and Owen about it.

Lunch was moving impossibly slow, and despite the fact that Bethany hadn't showed up yet, Kiel kept scanning the room for her. Even though he'd been here for a couple of months and was acquainted with many kids, he'd rather have a friend to talk to. He didn't care to have more conversations with the kids at his table, who only talked about school or sports or plans they were making. If Bethany were here, Kiel would get to talk to her instead of them.

"So, Kiel, do you watch soccer — oh, sorry, I mean _football_ in Germany?" Liz asked.

She was sitting across from him — in the spot that she usually sat at next to Bethany — and hadn't spoken until now. He didn't talk to her much about anything besides either school, Bethany, or his "life" in Germany. He didn't really consider Liz his friend, but she was nice enough and seemed to be a good friend for Bethany.

"Not really," Kiel said, unsure what else he could say. Soccer was the same thing as football? How could that be?

"That's surprising!" Liz remarked. "I heard from Bethany that you played soccer really well in your gym class."

"Thanks! I get that a lot," Kiel told the girl, winking at her. "The coach said I should play next year, but, you know, I won't be here."

She nodded, looking strangely disappointed. "That's sad."

Kiel didn't think that was sad at all. He was more than ready to say goodbye to school forever. And once it did in late spring, he could!

He glanced at the seat where Bethany usually sat. "Is Bethany here today? Have you seen her?"

"No, I haven't," Liz said. "I guess she's sick?"

Kiel looked back at his food, pushing it around the plate with his fork. "I guess so."

She cleared her throat. "So . . . are you going to Prom?"

"Prom?"

"Yeah." He looked at her, only to see that she was staring down at her food. "It's a few months away and some people are already getting asked . . ."

He tilted his head, not having an idea what this Prom thing was. Not wanting to act clueless about yet another nonfictional thing that he didn't know about, he said, "Yeah, I'm _totally_ going."

Liz smiled brightly. "You are?"

"Yes.

"Oh, okay. I was wondering . . . are you going with anyone?"

Kiel shrugged. "Maybe. I'll probably go with Bethany and Owen."

"Oh." She frowned. "Well, usually people go with a date."

He raised an eyebrow. "Um, okay. Back up a second. What is this exactly?"

"What is what?"

He sighed and leaned forward, purposely using a quiet voice so that no one would hear him. It'd been embarrassing the first time when he didn't know about coffee, or dodgeball, or TV's. He'd rather act like he knew what he was talking about, because that always made the situation simpler. But he couldn't continue the conversation without knowing what Prom meant. "Prom. What is Prom?"

Liz looked baffled. "You don't know what Prom is?" When he continued to stare at her, her face reddened, and she hesitantly smiled. "Uh, okay. Sorry. Prom is a school dance that high school students go to. I thought you would've known what that is."

"We didn't have Prom in Germany," Kiel said, thinking on his feet. "So it's a school dance." He nodded to himself. "Yeah, I think I'd go with Bethany and Owen."

"No one else? It is a school dance, so it's meant for a time when you can ask someone you like to it."

"Someone I like," Kiel repeated, the wheels turning in his head. By that, Liz meant romantically. He wasn't dumb; it was obvious. Why _was_ she asking him this, anyway? Just out of curiosity, or what?

"Yeah." Liz's face started turning crimson again, and she looked down and resumed eating. All the while, Kiel thought about this school dance, and who he'd bring. He never knew a thing like this existed. Sure, people danced on Magisteria, but it wasn't at a school and it wasn't called "Prom". Kiel felt a rush of excitement just thinking about it. He didn't exactly know what it was, but it sounded like it might be fun. It'd be a new experience for him.

Liz had said that Prom was special; it was meant for asking someone you like to the dance. Kiel still wanted to bring Owen and Bethany, since they were his best friends. Even though he was apparently supposed to bring someone he liked romantically, he assumed there'd be an exception if he didn't . But he obviously didn't feel romantic feelings towards _Owen_. Owen was his best friend, and always would be. No, the only person he could imagine going to this dance with and having feelings for was . . .

The bell rang, signaling the students to leave the cafeteria and get to class. Kiel stood up, saying goodbye to the other kids at his table before he threw out his food and left the cafeteria, feeling impatient and ready to _do_ something adventurous and thrilling. He'd had quite enough of sitting in this building, learning about chemistry and English and more.

Sadly, an adventure would not come until much later, not until he saw his friends again in the afternoon. So for now, he was reduced to posing as a German student and trying to concentrate in class, which was as boring as it was hard. But he had two hours left in the school day, and besides that, there was nothing left to do. It wasn't like Bethany was here, so he wouldn't be able to talk to her for majority of today.

Maybe he'd _actually_ try to focus in class today. It might even distract him a little bit before he saw his friends, which wouldn't be for another few hours. Why couldn't that time come any sooner? Kiel wished the day would hurry up. He was tired of waiting around. He was more than ready to talk to his friends about their plan, and then they'd go to the fictional world before Kiel . . . vanished.

As unnerving as it sounded, it was true. He didn't want to worry about it anymore, and he didn't want Bethany or Owen to either. But Kiel was not about to lose hope anytime soon. They'd be back in the fictional world by tonight, as Bethany had previously said. And whatever plan they came up with would work above and beyond. Everything always worked in Kiel's favor in the end, and this would too. He knew it.

* * *

The two teenagers stared at the now-dissolved chains, their mouths agape. Had that really just happened? Just like that — the chains were gone. They were _gone_.

Bethany couldn't say anything. She held her breath, unable to tear her eyes away from the pile of dust that had been chains a second ago. Her world felt like it was falling apart. How had this happened? Were the chains really _that_ old that they couldn't withstand Bethany touching it for one second? _One second?!_

"Oh my god. Did that actually happen?" Owen whispered, looking at her with a shocked expression. Bethany tried to say something, but her throat felt like it'd closed up. Somehow, her hands shook even harder. Their plan was ruined. _Ruined_. What could they do now? She hadn't even had the chance to pick the chains up and they'd disappeared!

All of the sudden, a breeze whipped through Bethany's hair, and a loud, crashing noise was heard from somewhere close by. Both of them nearby jumped out of their skin, and turned to look nervously at the door. Bethany's blood went cold, and she knew instantly that they weren't alone. A sick feeling grew in her gut, telling her to grab Owen's hand and jump out of the book. But she was frozen with fear, and she knew exactly who else was here.

"Nobody," she whispered, and in that moment she knew that her suspicion was correct. As if by confirmation, a whistling sound zipped through her ears, and another crashing noise was heard.

Owen's eyes went wide. "But we don't have the chains! They're gone!" His voice grew louder as he began to panic. "What are we going to do now? We can't lock him up anymore!"

"I —" Bethany started to say, but the wall separated their room from the next exploded, sending splints of wood everywhere. They covered their eyes from the debris, coughing the dust out of their lungs, as a figure emerged from the darkness and entered the room they were sitting in.

She lifted her hand, which was shaking violently, and pointed the flashlight at the figure. The sight of his featureless face made both of them gasp. Nobody crossed his arms, a frown growing on his face as he stared at them with empty eye sockets. "Ah, just as I expected. You've come no later than I anticipated." He nodded at them individually. "Bethany, Owen. I see you've returned to the fictional world to stop me."

Neither of them said anything, too shocked and scared too move. Nobody continued speaking, slowly walking towards them and cornering them against the wall. "I truly regret having to deal with you two again, but since Bethany has rejoined herself, I suppose there's nothing I can do but put a stop to this."

"You're _not_ going to separate Bethany again," Owen said in a shaky voice, narrowing his eyes at the man. "That's never going to happen."

"Never say never," Nobody said. He looked at Owen, and continued to walk closer. "I see that you've gotten out of your book. I hope you've learned something valuable from your time in _Pick The Plot_. I hope you realize that all of this is the fault of the nonfictionals. They're the only ones to blame."

"No," Bethany growled, getting to her feet. A surge of anger rushed through her, and she suddenly felt the urge to punch him senseless. " _You're_ the one to blame, Nobody!"

"Yeah!" Owen shouted, standing up too. "It's not the nonfictionals! This is all _your_ fault. You're causing fictional people to die! You did this to achieve your own goals, and none of that is ever going to help the fictional world!"

"Is it not?" Nobody tilted his head. "The fictional world will be better off once it is rewritten. No one will die. Not permanently."

"Exactly," Bethany said, glowering at the man. "We're going to make sure of that by locking _you_ up with the very chains that no villain from Jupiter City has ever been able to escape!"

Nobody stopped in his tracks, slowly growing a face and using it to stare at them with a perplexed expression. "What game are you playing at, girl? You think there's something you can do that won't make me separate you again?"

"Bethany," Owen whispered frantically. "The chains dissolved. We _saw_ them dissolve!"

She stubbornly shook her head. "Maybe those weren't them. These chains are indestructible, so how _could_ they dissolve? No, they have to be here." She gripped the flashlight hard in her hand. "Distract him with your time powers or something. I'm going to find the chains, and we're going to lock him up for good."

Bethany waited for him to object, or tell her how crazy that sounded, but he just nodded and turned back to Nobody. He took a deep breath, then squeezed his eyes shut and disappeared. A split-second later, Nobody flew backward onto the ground, and Bethany grinned as she watched an invisible Owen kicking him a million times a second.

She continued watching, only to realize that she was supposed to be looking for the chains. Owen had bought her a few seconds, or maybe even a few minutes. She couldn't waste it. _Think!_ There had to be some way to fix this!

Bethany flew past Nobody and looked around for somewhere to run. There was no sense in going back the way they'd come in. This place was huge, and she was pretty sure she couldn't find the chains that quickly. Not knowing where else to go, she sprinted for the stairs and took two steps at a time. The stairs groaned loudly as she climbed up them, but she thankfully managed to make it upstairs without them collapsing.

She stopped for a moment, her eyes darting around the dark hallway. She was breathing so hard that she thought she might faint. This was exactly how it was being fictional, and she'd forgotten the danger that came with it. Was this how life would always be? Doing crazy things just to keep herself alive, and not even caring about the consequences?

A loud crashing noise came from downstairs, and Bethany jumped back into action without a second thought. She immediately started running, poking her head in each room and doing a quick scan of each. This floor was identical to the bottom floor, since there was nothing but jail cells everywhere.

Bethany raced down hallway after hallway, her heart pounding in her chest. Owen was in danger. She had to find the chains, and fast! She ran and ran until she came across a room at the end of the hallway, which had a strange glow to it. Not having a moment to lose, she kicked open the door and rushed inside.

This time, she didn't even need to use the flashlight to see. The room was filled with boxes, which all contained different kinds of weapons. A bright glow was coming from one of the boxes in the room, which gave Bethany hope again. She pushed the other boxes to the side and ripped it open, only to clamp her eyes shut as an impossibly bright light burned into her eyes.

Shielding her eyes with her hand, she reached in and pulled out something metal. The glow faded slightly, allowing Bethany to see clearly what it was. It was the magical chains. This was what Mason Black had been talking about! Smiling triumphantly, Bethany draped them around her arm before running out to the hallway.

"Owen!" she shouted. "I've got them!"

Another crashing noise was heard, and Owen appeared at the end of the hall, running as fast as he could. He was breathing heavily. "I . . . tried . . . I . . . couldn't . . ."

Bethany grabbed his arm as he came up to her, and he gasped for air, looking like he'd just run a marathon. "I have the chains," she told him, holding them up for him to see. "Where did Nobody go? Are you okay?"

"Owen!" Nobody's angry voice rang from down the hall, and both of them whipped around to see the faceless man advancing towards them, his body growing larger and larger.

"Run!" Bethany shouted, and pulled Owen along into a sprint as they skidded down the next hallway, the floor creaking underneath their feet. She held the flashlight out, but it did little to help them see. It didn't help that Nobody was right behind them, shouting words that Bethany could barely hear above the roar of blood in her ears.

"I don't intend to hurt you, but I will be forced to do so if you keep this up!" Nobody said, and Bethany had to leap out of the way as his giant hand came hurtling towards her.

A part of the ceiling fell down behind them, and Owen shrieked. Through the cloud of dust and confusion and fear, they continued running and came across another set of stairs, which they instantly climbed up.

"I'm bisexual!" Bethany blurted out, panting as she ran next to him.

Owen glanced at her, his eyes wild. "Okay, great! I support you! But really? Is this _really_ the right time?"

"We're going to die! This is the only time!"

"We're not going to — AHH!" Owen's next step sent the floorboard crashing to the ground, and he started to fall. Bethany latched out and grabbed him by the hand, holding onto him for dear life.

"Owen!" she cried, wishing her hand wasn't so sweaty. She grunted from his weight and started to slowly lift him up, but then Nobody appeared at the bottom of the stairs, and all thoughts flew out the window.

Still holding onto Owen, she quickly morphed into a rocket and plowed straight through the ceiling, where they appeared outside. Bethany gently set Owen on the roof before changing back into her normal self, and they both clutched the floor beneath them like a lifeline, their faces sweaty and their bodies shaking.

This was not turning out as well as Bethany had hoped. Nobody was _mad_. He was surely going to hurt them both, just as badly as he had last time. They had at least a few seconds before Nobody came around to attack them again, maybe not even that.

Was there still enough time?

* * *

Owen was regretting his decision to help Bethany. This was feeling more and more like a nightmare and less like real life. This was not _The Dark_ comic anymore, but it definitely wasn't feeling like a superhero comic anymore, either. That was for sure.

 _Maybe since this is a book, then we won't die_ , Owen thought to himself as he caught his breath on the roof of the prison. Then he remembered how that had worked out for him in _Kiel Gnomenfoot and the Source of Magic_ and _Pick the Plot_. He hadn't died then, but he had surely been close to dying.

Could people die in comic books before a superhero showed up to save them? Did that happen? Owen wasn't sure. Lots of people had died in comic books, but only main characters! Were him and Bethany the main characters in this scenario? Did that mean they would die? With the amount of danger they were in right now, it seemed very likely.

But Owen still doubted that could actually happen, since the fictional world tended to make impossible things a lot more possible. He was hoping that there could still be a way to fix this. They had the chains, so they already had an advantage. All they had to do now was somehow _not_ get killed and wrap Nobody in them. Yeah, even _that_ sounded kind of impossible.

He slowly got up into a sitting position, his broken arm aching with pain. He looked at Bethany, who was clutching the flashlight with one hand and the roof with the other, her hair a tousled mess.

"You okay?" Owen asked her, slowly edging closer to her. He grabbed the chains, which were laying on the roof, and wrapped them around his chest and shoulders for safekeeping. The roof groaned slightly beneath him, making his heart beat a little faster. The prison was so old. He didn't know how much longer they'd have before the roof collapsed, too.

"Yeah," Bethany breathed. "Are you?"

"Yeah —" he started to say, but the floor shook violently beneath them, and they both jumped as they heard Nobody yell something.

"We have to jump!" Bethany shouted, slowly starting to stand.

Owen's eyes widened. "What? Are you crazy?"

"We don't have anywhere else to go!" she said. "The roof is going to give out at any minute, and Nobody will be here soon!"

"No, I'm not jumping!" Owen cried. "Bethany, I can't — I have a broken arm, I-I—"

"We don't have a choice! I don't like this idea either, but do you see anywhere _else_ to go?"

"Well . . . no."

"Then we have to! C'mon, the building's about to collapse. After we jump, you can use your powers or something."

"That's your best idea?" Owen made a wheezing noise. "Okay, this is going to be okay. It's going to be okay, it's going to be —"

"You can't run from me!" Nobody's voice roared from somewhere inside the building, and Owen heard muffled crashing noises. The roof shook again, and nearby, a piece of it fell. Owen's stared at the missing gap in the roof, and his knees nearly buckled. He was terrified.

"You're right!" He nodded frantically, his hands shaking so badly that he was unable to stop them. "We gotta jump."

Despite the danger, Bethany flashed an unsteady grin at him. But she still looked reasonably terrified. She motioned for him to get up. "Let's go! Now, Owen!" When he hesitated she said, " _Now_!"

More of the building fell, and they both screamed as the floor beneath them began to tilt down, only to stop a second later. Owen tucked his head into his chest, sucking in air as he held onto the floor. He had to jump. He had to take a leap of faith and hope that someone would come along to save him. That's what happened in superhero comics, right?

"Okay," Owen whispered. "I'm ready. Let's go." With Bethany's help, he carefully got to his feet since the floor was still unsteady.

All of the sudden, a piece of the roof exploded behind them, sending chunks of wood flying everywhere. As they both covered their faces, the floor beneath them tilted down, and they both screamed as they landed hard on their backs, skidding down what used to be the roof. They reached the end of the ledge, and just as he started to fall, Owen latched his hand onto the ledge, managing to halt his descent.

Bethany wasn't so lucky. She flew off the side of the building, and her scream echoed in Owen's ears. He gasped, holding as tightly as he could to the ledge as he watched his best friend fall. _No_! "BETHANY!"

"Bethany!" he shouted again, his voice hoarse. He threw a terrified glance above him, giving him just enough time to see Nobody, his gigantic hand reaching for Owen. Owen's eyes widened, and he looked around for somewhere to go. There was nowhere he could see. He only had one hand, and that hand was the only thing keeping him from falling. What could he do?

A loud, groaning noise filled Owen's ears. All at once, the floor gave out and he found himself falling. His stomach dropped. He was falling headfirst, his legs above him. He propelled his arm around for something, _anything_ to grab as he plummeted straight down to the city below. He screamed, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried his hardest to concentrate. "I can't do this! I can't do this!"

And then time stopped, and suddenly, he _could_.

He was still falling at a normal pace, but the building had slowed it's moving, and so had Bethany. He continued to fall until he landed hard on a chunk of the floor, which had been falling underneath him. Now that Owen could make some sense of things, he shakily got to his feet and leaped inside the building's window, which was only a foot away. He grunted as he hit the floor inside, where it was surprisingly stable.

Owen stood up and leaned his forehead against the wall, slowly breathing in and out as his heart continued to beat at a much faster pace than usual. This was insane, and such a close call! He was shocked it had even worked. Owen Conners, useless? Not anymore! He had time powers, and he was going to _use_ them.

Then, he remembered how Nobody could speed up his own time, which got Owen moving again. He ran straight for the stairs and moved down as quickly as he could. The ceiling shook ever so slightly above him as he raced down each staircase. Once he reached the bottom, he heaved a sigh of relief and exited the building.

He craned his head up to see a still-falling Bethany, her mouth hanging open in a silent scream. Strangely, however, it almost looked like a part of her was enjoying the fall. He couldn't tell from this angle.

Then Owen saw who was above her, and his blood went cold. He gasped. Nobody was falling as well, and he was slowly gaining speed, his arms gradually growing longer and longer with every second that passed.

A new idea formed in Owen's head, but he wasn't sure if it would work. Nobody was getting stronger already, so he'd only have a few seconds to do this right. He'd have to release his hold on time. It could go a number of ways, and both of them could get hurt, but there was a chance it would work. After all, this was the fictional world. The heroes _always_ won, especially in a superhero comic book.

But what if Nobody got to Bethany first? He could rewrite himself to be anything, and he was already close to grabbing Bethany even when time was frozen. Owen knew that if he sped up time again, that might only make Nobody's process quicker. Ugh.

No, there wasn't a better idea that this one. Owen could do this, right? Maybe. No, _no_ he couldn't. Who was he kidding? He could _not_ do this! But he had to do it anyway, even if he wasn't the only person here with powers. For a few seconds, he had to pretend that he was Kiel Gnomenfoot again. That always made him believe in himself a little bit more.

Owen removed the chains from their spot around his body, prepared to use them at a moment's notice. He took a deep breath, then eased his hold on time. Immediately, the sound of Bethany screaming filled his ears, and she continued to fall through the air. Now at a normal time, Nobody's arms shot out faster than Owen could see, stretching towards Bethany.

"Turn into something!" Owen shouted over and over, hoping she could hear him. She must've, because a few seconds later, she turned into a rubber ball and shot directly towards the ground. Nobody's hands passed right through the spot she'd been, and Owen could hear him angrily shouting something.

Owen squinted his eyes through the darkness as he looked for Bethany. He heard a slapping noise nearby, probably the sound of the rubber ball hitting the ground. A moment later, Bethany transformed back, and Owen had barely enough time to pull her towards him before Nobody crashed to the ground.

Knowing he didn't have any time to lose, Owen quickly kicked his time powers into gear, keeping his hand on Bethany's arm. She looked at him with a bewildered expression, then fixed her gaze on Nobody. "What happened?"

Owen beamed, adrenaline coursing through his veins. He couldn't believe his plan had worked! "Only me _saving_ you. And I did it all on my own!"

Bethany grinned back, interlocked her fingers with his, then stared up at Nobody, who was gradually starting to move. She grabbed the chains from Owen. "Okay. We don't have much time. Let's wrap these around him before he speeds himself up."

"What if this doesn't work?" Owen asked, hoping his voice wasn't shaking as he said it. He could tell that Nobody was already beginning to speed himself up, and every second that passed, his body got increasingly larger, and his mouth began to open, as if he was going to say something.

"Not an option. This is going to work," Bethany prompted, her brow set. Despite her determined expression, he could tell that she was just as nervous as he was. "It _has_ to."

"You're right," Owen breathed. "It'll work."

Together, they started encircling the chains around Nobody's waist and chest as quickly as they could. It took longer than Owen would've liked, but they had to hold hands to keep his time powers working, so it couldn't be helped. Luckily, the faceless man had very slow movements, but he was able to glare at them with hateful eyes, which made Owen shudder. The two of them wound the rest of the chains around Nobody, and simultaneously, they stepped back and dropped each other's hands.

" _What do you think you're doing_?" Nobody roared, his face contorted with anger. He extended a hand out to grab them, then paused and looked down oddly at his hand. His hand stayed where it was, trapped beneath the glowing chains. Again, Nobody tried to move his arms, but he was unable to.

He looked back at them. "What have you done to me? You think _this_ contraption can hold me?" This time, he grew to a larger size, but the chains grew with him, refusing to fall away. He returned back to his normal size, slowly breathing in and out as he glowered at Owen and Bethany.

"The fictional world is going to be safe from you now," Owen said, feeling much more confident. "We're gonna make sure you don't ever escape, Nobody. Your plan is _ruined_."

Nobody only stared at them, clearly at a loss for words. Owen bit back a grin as he watched Bethany step closer to the faceless man.

"This is only fair," Bethany said, her voice low and steady. She leaned closer in a way that seemed threatening, and strands of hair fell across her face. "After you've taken my father from me, after you've separated me, _and_ after you've hurt my friends. You are _never_ going to hassle the fictional world or my friends ever again. Now shrink yourself."

"What?" Nobody hissed. "I don't know what you think you're playing at, but I swear you will —"

"Shrink yourself!" she shouted in his face, making Owen jump. He'd never seen her get so dangerously angry. He watched as Nobody glared at them one last time before morphing his body to the size of a hand. Taking a deep breath, Bethany reached down, plucked Nobody from the ground, and threw him straight into the lake.

"Wow," Owen whispered, staring at the ripples in the water where Nobody had landed.

"Wow," Bethany echoed, stumbling backwards a bit. They watched the water in silence for a full minute, before the situation caught up with Owen's brain.

"Wait, really? It _worked_?" Owen's mouth hung open, and he looked over at her. "Did that just happen?"

"It happened."

"I thought I might've imagined the whole thing. But you saying it happened makes me feel so much better." He fought back a smile as the adrenaline rush of the last hour subsided. "Are . . . are you sure? Is he actually . . .?"

It all felt too surreal. It'd been _so_ quick, impossibly quick. How had it worked? How had any of it worked? It was like an incredible dream, and Owen couldn't fully believe it had just happened. It was as if the sun was shining on him, and the birds were singing, despite the fact that they were on an island that had neither sunshine nor birds.

Bethany sunk to her knees, a grin slowly forming on her face. "I thought this would be harder. What are we supposed to do _now_? Owen, he's locked away! _He's gone!_ " She let out a giddy laugh. "I . . . wow. I need to go find my father."

"Whoa, slow down!" Owen said, a laugh in his voice. "We'll find him. But shouldn't we tell Kiel?"

"Oh, right," Bethany said, and Owen suddenly remembered how they'd done this without telling anyone. "He's gonna freak out. Oh, wow. I can't believe this is finally over."

"I know." Owen shook his head in disbelief, his heart light. It felt like he could accomplish anything and more. Nothing could tear him down, not even the knowledge that a creepy prison was still next to them. "I still can't believe it worked! It actually worked! Nobody's gone. He's gone _forever_. Maybe we should yell something."

"Why?"

Owen smiled. "I don't know. It just feels like we should." He turned back to the view. Taking a deep breath, he yelled, "Nobody is stupid!"

Bethany laughed. She cupped her hands over his mouth and yelled, "Nobody has no friends!"

"Nobody wishes he was funny!" Owen shouted, beaming now.

"Nobody has the worst taste in food!"

"Nobody is like the Grinch on Christmas!"

"Nobody participated in the spelling bee at school but he was the first one to lose!"

"Nobody is embarrassed of his looks, so that's why he's featureless!"

"Nobody is ugly!"

Both of them were laughing — probably hard enough to earn a few strange looks from anyone else who was watching. Luckily, no one else was around. Once Owen gained control of himself enough to form a sentence, he said, "We need to celebrate or — yeah, celebrate!"

She looked at him curiosity, a casual grin on her face. "Oh no. What kind of celebration?"

Owen went through the list of fun things he'd been dying to do. "We can go have a party with the superheroes! Or jump into the Harry Potter books, or maybe even fly around using the magic fairy dust from Peter Pan!" He snapped his fingers. "Oh! Here's another idea: we should go to Narnia and hang out with Aslan. Honestly, I think I deserve at least _that_ after all the stress Nobody put me through. I'm still trying to process it."

"Process it on the way. We gotta get back before your mom knows you're gone." She winked at him, unable to keep from smiling. "You don't want to be grounded anymore, do you?"

"Hey!" Owen said, but he couldn't take her seriously with them both smiling widely. "I'm _already_ grounded. She's at work right now, so she can't exactly know I'm gone."

Bethany stood up. She looked towards the direction of Jupiter City, seeming more at peace than Owen had ever seen her. For once, she looked calm, without a hint of worry on her face. It made his heart swell to see her that way. In that moment, he knew everything would be just fine. They'd never be in any _serious_ danger anymore, especially on Bethany's behalf.

"Um, we can go find your dad right now, if that's what you want," Owen said quietly, jerking his head in the direction of the city.

"That's okay," she said, her hair blowing gently in the breeze. "I know exactly where I can find him. I think I need at least another day to process things before I come back and get him." She looked at him. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," Owen said, placing his hand in her's. Then, he paused. "Wait, but what about Narnia —"

Before he could finish the sentence, Bethany jumped them out of the book.

* * *

" _What_ did I miss?" Kiel Gnomenfoot asked, feeling so shocked that he had to place both hands on the table in front of him.

He had come to the library after a long day at school, hoping to see his friends again. Not only did he see Owen, but he also saw Bethany. They both had looked unusually excited — well, unusual for Bethany. That was normal for Owen — and had filled him in on their story. Apparently, they'd gone to Jupiter City without him, and they'd locked Nobody up with magical chains.

Kiel had to ask several questions before he understood what had truly happened, and he was still shocked. Just like that . . . Nobody was gone from their lives? It seemed like a miracle. He was a little annoyed that his friends had failed to tell him where they were going, since he would've preferred to have a fun adventure over sitting in a classroom all day, but he was happy nonetheless.

Bethany repeated the story for the third time, looking slightly annoyed since it was taking so long for Kiel to wrap his head around it. Once it was explained again in great detail, Kiel finally understood what had happened. At least, he _thought_ he did. So Nobody was gone, hopefully forever. Did that mean the fictional world was saved, too? He really hoped so. It meant his world was safe!

"I can't believe I missed all the action," Kiel said, frowning despite his relief. "You didn't think to invite me along? I'm very impressive in a fight!"

"Sorry about that," Bethany said, smiling as she pat him on the arm. "I was going to go by myself without bringing either of you, but Owen found out I was leaving and basically forced me to bring him with me."

"You needed help!" Owen protested. "I wasn't going to let you defeat him by yourself!"

Kiel nodded in agreement. "As much as I believe you could do it, Beth, I think it's better to have help. Especially against Nobody, of all people."

"I know," Bethany said, looking a bit embarrassed by this. " _But_ it worked out, and Nobody's gone now!" She looked pointedly at Owen and Kiel. "So we don't need to keep saying I needed help! Yeah, I _did_ , but can we stop talking about it?"

"Yeah, yeah. Okay. I know!" Owen said, grinning. Kiel only winked in response.

"So," she said. "I was thinking that we should go over my house tonight. For a sleep over. I know it's a school night, but I'm pretty sure my mom would be okay with it as long as we don't stay up to late." She looked at Kiel. "What do you think?"

He grinned. "I'm in!"

She smiled back, then looked at Owen and folded her hands together. "What about you?"

"Oh." He glanced over at his mother's office, where she was currently working. "Um, I don't know. I'd love to. But I'm . . . grounded."

"You never know. She might say yes," Kiel said.

"Maybe." Owen shrugged, looking at them with hopeful eyes. "I'll ask her when I get home." He checked the time on his phone, then sighed and stood up. "I should get back to work. My mom doesn't want me taking breaks. I'll be at the checkout counter if you need me." Giving them a wave, he walked over to the checkout counter and rested his head on his hand, already looking lost-in-thought.

Smiling to himself, Kiel looked back at Bethany, who's eyes were on a nearby bookcase. She seemed utterly calm and unworried, which was a strange but welcoming sight to see.

"Anything else dangerous we can do? Any dragons that need slaying? Or giants?" Kiel asked her in a joking tone, although he genuinely meant it.

He _missed_ adventures, and he'd missed the chance to defeat Nobody! He'd been looking forward to that, actually. The thought of that was disappointing, but at least he could still have plenty of adventures in the future. He knew that would never change, and he hoped he could continue to go on them with Bethany and Owen, even if they'd just be for fun.

"Not yet," Bethany replied, looking over at him.

"What are you going to do now that Nobody is taken care of?" Kiel asked quietly, placing his hands on the table. "Are you going to bring your father back now?"

She nodded slightly. "Yeah, soon. I'm not sure when, but I should . . . probably talk to my mom about it first. Or after. I don't know. But right now, I'm still just in shock. It feels kind of surreal. I can't believe that Nobody is _gone_."

" _And_ without my help!" he added, which made her laugh.

"Wait, what are _you_ going to do?" Bethany asked, her smile fading. "I thought you'd be finishing the school year here, but . . . I mean, if you want to go back to your world then no one's going to stop you."

"For now, I'm not going anywhere," Kiel told her. "I think I'm supposed to finish out the school year as a German student, but I'll definitely go back to visit Magisteria a few times." He sighed wistfully. "I _miss_ dragons."

"Don't worry," she said, grinning. "You'll get to see dragons! Maybe tomorrow we'll jump into your book."

He smiled at that. It made his heart feel a little lighter at the thought of returning to familiarity, even though he liked being here with his friends and traveling to new worlds. Then he remembered something from that morning, and he tapped his fingers on the table. "Oh, I almost forgot! There's something that Liz told me about, and it's apparently some kind of tradition at your school. That's another reason I'll be staying for the rest of the school year. It's supposed to be fun. It's called . . . Prom?"

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, it's this school dance that, um, people go to. I've never been, but I'm not surprised Liz mentioned it to you. For some reason, she's really obsessed with dances."

Kiel chuckled. "I kind of picked up on that. Anyway, can we go? I've never been to a dance before. They aren't really a thing on Magisteria, and it seems fun."

"We?" Bethany blinked a few times, and her face turned red. "You mean like . . . just me and you?"

"You, me, and Owen," he said, feeling confused. "Won't he be able to come?"

She released a breath, then smiled, though she still looked caught-off-guard. "Yeah, he would."

"Oh, great," Kiel replied, wondering why she thought only them two would be going. Maybe it was that thing that Liz had said, about two people going as a couple. But Kiel thought that didn't make much sense. The last thing he'd ever do was exclude his other friends from such a great opportunity as this one. He felt glad that he wouldn't be missing this upcoming dance, since it was a rare opportunity.

Even if it was disappointing that he'd missed all the fun of fighting Nobody, everything was resolved now, and the worlds were no longer in danger. It felt nice to have something to look forward to with his friends, and leading up to that time he could visit as many other worlds as he wanted, more specifically his own.

He couldn't wait to be back home again, and he would no longer having to secretly worry about Nobody. He doubted this carefree, happy feeling would fade away. For the first time since he'd come to the nonfictional world, he felt exactly as he'd always been. He felt like his true self again — Kiel Gnomenfoot — and it felt _good_ to not worry about a single thing. Really good.

* * *

"Really? You want to go to your friend's house and sleep over . . . on a _school_ night?" Owen's mother asked as they sat at the dinner table.

"Yes?" Owen said. "So can I go?"

She sighed, looking down at her food. "You _are_ grounded . . ."

"But this is the first time I'm asking you!" Owen said, hoping his voice wasn't as whiny as it sounded. "And you told me to ask you when I want to go over a friend's house, so I am! Please let me go! I _have_ to go!"

She smiled a little. "I don't know about _that_."

"I do!" he insisted. "Bethany is my best friend, and Kiel will be there too. _Their_ parents are letting them do it, and they actually _go_ to school."

"Are you sure their parents are okay with them doing this?"

"Yes, I'm sure! Please, Mom! It's not like I'm going on a quest or something. I'd only be doing that if I were the chosen one, like Harry Potter."

"Owen," she said, sighing. "What did I say about you being the chosen one, destined to save the world?"

He rolled his eyes. "That the real world is exciting enough, and that I can find plenty of fun things here."

"Without . . ."

"Without being a wizard or the long-lost son of a king."

"Or . . ."

"Mom, come on!"

 _"_ _Or . . .?"_

"A magician's apprentice, like Kiel Gnomenfoot."

 _"_ _Or?"_

He sighed loudly, and she gave him a pointed look."Or an orphan who grows up to fight crime."

"That one was always a bit insulting, honestly. Really? You'd rather be an orphan?" His mother shook her head in disbelief. "Okay, you can go. But make sure to clean your room first. I want it to be spotless."

Owen laughed. As if _that_ would ever happen.

As soon as dinner ended, Owen ran upstairs to his bedroom, then swung the door closed. He turned to his messy room, stared at it for a few seconds, and then pushed a pile of the dirty clothes to the side of the wall. He then made a weak attempt to make his bed, by throwing his blanket loosely over the bed and wiping the wrinkles off of the pillows.

When he was done, he sauntered over to the closet. Squinting his eyes through the darkness, he finally found what he was looking for and leaned over to grab it. He took out the bottle of air freshener and sprayed it around the room, allowing the smell of clean sheets to waft into his nose.

"There," he announced to no one. "Not dirty."

An hour later, he was in Bethany's house, hugging his mother goodbye after she insisted on walking in with him, only to have a long talk with Mrs. Sanderson and re-check his bag and make sure he had the necessary items for a sleepover. Seriously, it was like he'd never slept over someone's house before! He'd had countless sleepovers at Bethany's house, so it didn't make sense why she'd assume he didn't remember the procedure.

Maybe she was just nervous about Owen sleeping in a different house for the first time in a while. That was probably it.

"Did you bring any snacks?" Bethany asked once Owen entered the kitchen, finally free of his mother.

He held up a bag of Oreos, and she smiled. "Perfect. Give me it." She grabbed it out of his hands before he could protest, then opened the bag and started eating.

"Hey!" Owen said, reaching for it. She held it out of his reach. "Those are mine!"

"My mom doesn't have any snacks around besides pretzels," Bethany explained. "This is for your own good, anyway. You eat too much sugar."

"Who are you, my mom?"

"Maybe."

"That'd be _really_ weird, Bethany," Owen said, but he smiled too. "Uh, so where's Kiel?"

"Here!" came a voice from the couch, and he looked over to see Kiel laying there, his wand-knives above his head as he cast various spells.

"You're letting him cast spells in here?" Owen asked, blinking in surprise.

Bethany sighed, though she didn't look uncomfortable about it. "Yeah. My mom is upstairs anyway. I'm letting him do it as long as he doesn't damage my house."

Owen laughed, and Kiel said, "What's there to worry about? I'm not going to damage anything." Then he craned his head towards them and winked. "Not permanently."

" _Don't_ _damage anything_ ," Bethany warned, pointing a finger at him. He only smiled and went back to casting spells.

Then, Owen realized something that he hadn't before. He walked closer to Kiel. "Your wand-knives . . . they're back. Didn't one of them disappear?"

"They did," Kiel said. "But I guess sometime after you defeated Nobody, all of my stuff returned. It was weird. I found out when I came home from the library. But now, I have my cape back, along with everything else that went missing."

"That's amazing!" Owen said, and he meant it. He hadn't realized that defeating Nobody meant Kiel's missing items would be restored, but it made sense. Now, the fictional people were safe, and the worlds wouldn't disappear. It only showed that everything _had_ worked out, after all. Despite all of his doubts that maybe it wouldn't work, clearly it had. The proof was here.

"That shows us even more that Nobody is gone," Bethany said, nodding her head. "It feels so nice to not worry about it anymore."

"Yeah," Owen said quietly, smiling at them. It was almost like he didn't know what to do now that they'd defeated Nobody. He felt so free, like he was no longer tied down to anything. Him and Bethany had saved the world! Just for tonight, he wanted to have a fun night with his friends. All of them deserved it after what they'd gone through. And after that . . .

After that he wanted to visit more fictional worlds, but hopefully, it wouldn't lead to any more danger. Seeing his friends was at the top of his list, too. They didn't need to fight any more evil, so this could just be for fun purposes. Obviously, he'd see Charm and Kara right away. Out of all his friends that he'd been dying to see, they were the most important.

Since it was getting late, Bethany brought over blankets from a closet upstairs, and the three of them half-heartedly made a blanket fort for them to sleep in. Kiel was already on the couch, so he decided to sleep there, while Owen and Bethany would sleep on the floor. Owen didn't find it very comfortable, but wrapping himself in about three blankets helped, although it still didn't feel as comfortable as his own bed.

They talked long into the night, first about the books they wanted to visit next, which somehow escalated into a debate between Owen and Kiel about who would be better in a fight: Batman or Iron Man? As they started that conversation, Bethany seemed to quickly grow bored, so she'd taken out a book and decided to read it.

Eventually, after Bethany's mother ordered them to go to sleep and promptly turned out the lights, Owen's energy started to wear off. Maybe it was the fact that the day had been so eventful and dangerous, or that he was once again safe, but the warmth of the blanket and his friends' quiet voices were making Owen drowsy. His eyes began to close and he was unable to keep them open anymore.

Before he knew it, he had fallen fast asleep, and his head was filled with dreams of getting an acceptance letter to Hogwarts, becoming to High King of Narnia, and getting to be Kiel Gnomenfoot again. Except this time, his heart wasn't taken out by Dr. Verity, and Charm confessed that she liked him.

Unfortunately, he was ripped from his pleasant dreams only a few hours later. And it wasn't for a good reason.

* * *

A strange noise stirred Bethany awake. Slowly, she opened her eyes, feeling groggy. It was dark out still, which didn't give her any motivation to stay away. Pulling the blankets further over her body, she started to close her eyes again, and her breathing steadied.

Then, she heard the noise again, which sounded like a heavy scraping noise against the ground. She had _not_ been dreaming it. She sat bolt upright and pulled the covers off of her before leaping over Owen, who was asleep on the floor next to her. As quietly as she could, she crept out of the living room and down the hallway, goosebumps forming on her arms.

Bethany didn't understand why she felt afraid, but her gut told her that something was up. This had never happened before, and she didn't have a pet, so there wasn't an explanation for it. Maybe her mother was awake? That could be possible, but why would she be downstairs at 3:00 am in the morning?

Bethany squinted, trying to make out anything in the darkened hallway. She could hardly see. The scraping noise was heard again, and it was louder this time. She held her breath, her eyes wide as she tried to search for the source of the noise.

Something was _definitely_ wrong.

Then, there was a sharp hiss, and the silhouette of a large, monstrous figure emerged from the end of the hallway. Bethany watched with horror as it came closer and closer, and it was then that she saw what it was: a giant snake. She gasped. A snake?! There was no way this could be anything but fictional. It was too huge to be normal. But if it _was_ fictional, how had it gotten out of the book?

She backed away as the snake advanced towards her, it's eyes fixed on her and it's mouth opening and closing, as if it was preparing to eat her. She backpedaled into the kitchen and searched wildly around for a book to grab. She opened drawers and cabinets for something, _anything_ that could be useful. There wasn't even a cookbook. Seriously? Why didn't her mother have any cookbooks?

This was _not_ good.

"Owen! Kiel!" Bethany yelled, grabbing a kitchen knife before she turned back to the giant snake. It covered up the entire hallway now, and it was slowly slithering into the kitchen. She edged away, stepping in front of the living room just in case the snake decided to try attacking her friends.

"What?" Kiel asked, rubbing his hand over his face. Then, he looked over at her, and he shot out of the couch, all tiredness gone. He shook Owen's shoulders. "Wake up!"

As Owen slowly awoke, Bethany faced down the snake, simultaneously trying to search for a book that might be nearby. The snake hissed at her, then opened it's mouth and lunged forward. She screamed in surprise and hit the floor hard, landing right underneath the snake's head.

"Hey! Get away from her!" Kiel shouted, and a second later, the snake was blown backward into the end of the hallway. Breathing hard, Bethany got to her feet, Owen and Kiel appearing at her side.

"Are you okay?" Kiel asked, looking her over.

She nodded shakily. "Y-Yeah."

"What's going on?" Owen whispered.

"I don't know," Bethany said, feeling sick to her stomach. "I . . . I don't —"

Another noise was heard from behind them, and they slowly turned around to see a dragon flying out of a book, followed by another, and then another. Two of them crashed right through the ceiling, while the next roared, and flew straight for them. They threw themselves to the ground.

Owen made a choking noise. " _Oh my god_ _they're escaping from the books_!"

"I-I know. This is terrible," Bethany whispered, her heart racing out of control. How had things escalated so quickly? What was going on? Why were the fictional characters, specifically monsters, escaping from their books?

"Come on!" Kiel shouted, and Bethany had just enough time to see a huge grin on his face before he leapt from the floor and cast spells at the dragon, which had crashed into the kitchen.

"Do you see any books?" Bethany asked Owen, helping him to his feet. The window exploded next to them, and they quickly jumped away as a witch on a broom flew just past her house.

"There's that book over there," Owen said, pointing at the one the dragons had come out of. They ran to it, and Bethany started to pick it up, but it jumped out of her hand, and they both leapt backward again as yet another dragon flew out of the book.

She forced herself to pick the book up again, ignoring the fact that any other character could jump out at a moment's notice. She glanced at the cover, which said _Dragonology_. Right. She'd been reading this last night, since Kiel really wanted to see dragons again. _That_ was inconvenient. Why did this always seem to happen?

Holding the book open, she ducked past Kiel and the dragon he was fighting and charged towards the giant snake, which had somehow managed to climb halfway up the stairs. "Alright, you get to live with dragons now!" she shouted, and dived right at the snake. It vanished inside the pages of the book, and she grunted as she crashed into the stairs. Her head spun, but she managed to grab the book again and snap it shut, hopefully keeping any other monsters from escaping.

Then, she heard a shriek from the top of the stairs, and she looked up to see her mother standing there, looking terrified. "Oh my god. Bethany!"

"Mom!" Bethany choked out, her heart nearly stopping right then and there as her worst fears rolled into one. She scrambled to her feet, the book underneath her arm. "Oh, god. I-I can explain everything."

"I think you'd better. Get your friends and get in the car. _Now_."

* * *

 _"_ _I, I can remember standing by the wall. And the guns, shot above our heads. And we kissed, as though nothing could fall . . ."_


	24. EverythingThatCouldGoWrongHasGoneWrong

_**Alive (by Sia)**_

 _"I'm still breathing, I'm still breathing. I'm alive . . ."_

* * *

Eleven days.

Sometimes, it was hard to keep track of things. Especially when stuck inside a jail cell for the umpteenth time. The only thing she'd really been able to do was count to make time pass quicker. Counting the days gave her a way to keep track of time . . . not that it really mattered. She'd probably tire of it by day three-hundred or so. It wasn't like she'd be leaving anytime soon, so she didn't exactly need to know how many days she'd been here. It helped with the boredom, though. And the loneliness.

Kara should've realized that she had made a mistake by letting herself get locked up again, but it was too late for any of that. It was eleven days too late, and without a time bracelet there was no way to reverse anything. Maybe she was supposed to just let life happen and not go back in time to change it, even if she didn't like the way her life was going. If there was anything the universe was teaching her, it was that.

Her prison cell — if that was even what it could be called — was a small room with one door and no windows. It'd given her a couple of days before she realized there was even a door, because the room was so dark that nothing could be seen. She hated how dark it was, and how everything was eerily silent. She had no one to talk to but herself, and the person who occasionally came to bring her food never spoke.

"Solitary confinement", as it was called, was certainly harder to deal with than the time prison. Being here almost made Kara miss the time prison, even though it'd been a horrible experience. But she knew she was supposed to be there, just like she was supposed to be here. It was better to be here, no matter how much she longed to be free. But she never would be. Not if the world continued to be in danger because of her.

If she weren't locked up, the entire world would die off. She'd try her hardest to avoid that outcome. She'd lock herself up for the rest of her life, if she had to. She had to keep the world safe, no matter how much everyone hated her. Her very existence was putting the world in jeopardy, and she couldn't live with herself if she were the cause of the world dying. She'd feel guilty forever.

Strangely enough, though, the end of the world wasn't as concerning as it used to be. Maybe it was because she was in complete darkness and silence, unable to communicate with anyone, but she wasn't as scared as she had been. Kara was more scared that she'd never see daylight again. Being alone in the darkness was slowly driving her crazy. It gave her plenty of time to think, but there wasn't much she could do besides that.

A small part of her wondered if the world was truly going to die because of her. All the signs pointed to it, but a part of her hoped that somehow, she'd be free someday to start anew, not having to worry about where her actions would lead her. It was wishful thinking, but it was all Kara could dream about. It was all she'd ever wanted.

Saving the world from utter destruction was all she'd tried to do, and she certainly had tried endless times. _Countless_ times. It was hard to imagine a time when she wasn't trying to stop something from happening. She made mistakes without even trying, and when she tried to fix them, they fell apart even more.

Really, she'd never been able to imagine much of anything until now, since she was stuck in a dark room with nothing else to do. Often, she envisioned what her life would be like if her mistakes and burdens fell away. It would be wonderful if she could be a normal, harmless girl for once. But it just wasn't her. Normal wasn't Kara Dox, and no amount of dreaming could change that. Not even here.

Kara liked it best when she wasn't awake, because her dreams were the only time she was able to escape. There, she saw no darkness. In her dreams, there was Owen. He was her closest and only friend, aside from her other selves. He was like a ray of sunshine in her otherwise dark life, and being with him again always made her happy. She thought about him every day, too. It was hard not to think about him, especially because she missed him more than she'd ever missed anyone.

Once, maybe a couple of days ago, she could've sworn she'd heard Owen's voice. She was fairly sure it'd been only a dream, but then again, it was hard to decipher dreams from reality when everything was dark all of the time. It probably was just a dream. Either that, or she was already going crazy from being here. Could a person go crazy without knowing it?

When Kara heard him speaking to her, she remembered seeing his face, just like she'd seen every time she fell asleep. He'd been laying in a bed — maybe it was his — and he was talking in a quiet voice, as if he didn't want to wake anyone up. "If you're out there, I'll get you out of that prison, Kara," she'd heard him say. "I'm pretty sure you can't hear me saying this, but if you can . . . I hope you're okay. I don't know . . . I had a bad day today. My mom caught me sneaking out, and well, I guess I wish you were here."

Unlike her other dreams which she didn't remember too well, she remembered the dialogue perfectly. It felt so real. Hearing his voice made her miss him all over again, and it made her partly wish that she'd never given herself up to the time agents. She really _had_ wanted to go with him though. It would be amazing to leave her world behind and go with him. She _knew_ it would've been.

But out of fear, she chose to keep him and the rest of the world safe. That was one thing she regretted, but it was too late to change anything.

Having him in the time prison had surprisingly made her life a lot better, even though he wasn't meant to be there. Owen being there had brought her a sense of comfort that she couldn't explain. For once, she hadn't felt lonely. She'd even felt less afraid when he was by her side. He was always there for her, even during the times she was sad or felt hopeless. She was very glad he wasn't here with her now, or else she'd feel worse.

Every day, Kara hoped and prayed that Owen had returned home safely, and that he was okay. She wasn't sure. For all she knew, he could still be in that dinosaur-invested jungle. A part of her doubted this was true, but without much else to think about, it was easy to envision the plenty of scenarios her friend could be in. She wished justice could be brought to Nobody, the villain who'd put Owen in the time prison.

Owen didn't deserve what Nobody had put him through, and he certainly hadn't deserved to be stuck in a time prison with Kara. He was the best, and probably the kindest person she'd ever known. The least she could hope for was that he was safe, happy, and healthy, now that he was away from the time prison . . . and her. She'd done all she could to help him. She hoped it was enough. All she wanted was for him to be happy.

It made Kara feel a little bit better to know that she, along with the Countess, were locked up. And the Countess was even more dangerous than her, so it was crucial that she never escape. Kara wondered how that woman was coping with solitary confinement. She was probably going crazy already, unlike Kara, who was pretty sure she'd have another few more weeks before that happened. Or so she hoped. The idea of her going crazy wasn't very pleasant to think about.

Kara listened hopefully for the familiar sound of the slot in the door creaking open, where food and water were regularly deposited for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That was the only way she could tell what time it was, aside from the rare time she was allowed to leave her cell.

That moment had brought her some form of entertainment, even though the soldiers were as emotionless and harsh as the ones from the TSA. That'd been on her third day here, because the authorities had wanted to question her about her time traveling felonies. That sort of thing. But she was grateful for even that moment, because for at least ten minutes, she wasn't in complete darkness. Unfortunately for the days after that, she'd been stuck in this enclosure, unable to do nothing else but think.

She shifted around on her cot, which was nothing more than a blanket with an uncomfortable pillow, and slowly edged towards where the door was. It was too dark to see anything around her, but from experience she knew that the door was somewhere nearby.

She crawled towards it until her hand came in contact with the wall, and she slumped against it, pressing her cheek against the metal door as she listened for any noises. As always, there were none. She kept hoping she'd hear some sort of sound. The only thing she ever heard was the sound of the slot opening and closing, and the plate of food being placed on the floor.

Sometimes Kara found herself singing softly to herself to pass the time, which always made her think of Owen for some reason. There was no one to hear her, so she didn't care. She couldn't care less if anyone did. It was better than talking crazily to herself . . . even though she already had talked to herself before. Not her specific self, but her future selves. They never were bad company, even though they normally warned Kara about threatening things to come in the future.

As Kara continued to press her ear against the door, the door suddenly swung open. Surprised, the girl fell back, landing hard on her elbow. She had to blink several times to adjust to the light that came from the hallway, since the lights practically burned into her eyes. She could make out the form of a tall man, who was the first person she'd seen in eight days.

"Hello?" Kara whispered, her voice hoarse from not using it for several days.

"Kara Dox," he said in a deep, monotone voice. "Come with me."

Her heart leapt. She scrambled to her feet, using the wall for leverage since she hadn't walked anywhere in quite a long time. The man turned around, and she quickly followed him out, trying not to feel _too_ excited. It was hard not to. She'd come to appreciate even the smallest things like getting to leave her room. She hated being in there. She never knew when she'd be able to leave, or if she'd ever leave again.

As the man led her down the hallway, Kara whipped her head around, wanting to capture the entire scenery with her eyes. It was weird to see again after days of being in the dark. Everything was brightly lit, almost comparable to a hospital. Everything was pure white, including the uniforms everyone wore. Kara's own outfit had been swapped once she was locked up here; while she still wore a jumpsuit, it was now bright white. Somehow, it hadn't gotten even a speck of dirt on it.

The prison here was also much more secured, since no prisoners were allowed to wander about. Unlike the Time Security Agency, the jail cells here had no bars. They were just like Kara's cell, with the same heavy metal door, which was twice her size. Each door had a number on it instead of name, which made her shiver.

Did that mean the prisoners were only referred to as numbers instead of their actual names? Did that mean _she_ was referred to as a number? If she stayed here for the rest of her life, would they eventually forget her name, and start using the number "four" or "seven" to replace it?

They continued on until they reached the end of the very long hallway, where the guard retrieved a card from his pocket and scanned it against a device that was connected to the door. A beeping noise was heard, and the doors abruptly swung open, releasing a wave of cold air into Kara.

As the guard placed the card back into his pocket, Kara eyed it with more curiosity than anything. Obviously, she wouldn't try to escape. She was a danger to everyone. It was much better to keep the world safe than to let this terrible future happen. But if the prison were to . . . get destroyed like the last one . . . she'd at least know how to get out of her cell with this card.

On the other side of the door was another shorter hallway, which branched off into different rooms. Several guards were positioned along the wall, all wearing black helmets that covered their faces. Kara cast an apprehensive look at them before drawling her eyes to the floor and keeping them there, staring at the guard's feet in front of her. Not a single part of this place made her feel good.

They walked into the next hallway until they came to a closed door. The guard stopped so abruptly that Kara nearly slammed into him, but she drew backward at the last second. She watched as he scanned his card against the door, then escorted her through. The room they entered was small, with nothing but a large, buzzing machine in the corner with various wires poking out of it, a small metal table, and a metal chair in front of that.

Standing next to the machine was a woman, who was wearing the same white jumpsuit as the rest of them. When Kara entered the room, she gestured, and another guard closed the door behind her, locking it shut. The noise echoed in Kara's ears, and she remembered once again how high the security was here.

"Hello, Kara," the woman said with a smile, yet her cold tone did not match her expression. "Do you know what this is?" She nodded her head towards the machine.

Kara swallowed hard, then shook her head. She had to clasp her hands in front of her to prevent her entire body from shaking. What was the machine supposed to be? Just looking at it made her a little queasy, so she averted her gaze from it and chose to glare at the woman.

"It's going to be very useful for us. We're going to use it to locate all the little mishaps in time. _Your_ mishaps." Once she was done talking, the woman studied Kara, as if waiting for a reaction. Kara dug her fingernails into her palms but said nothing, shame filling her. It was her messing around with time that had caused the future in the first place.

"And then," the woman continued. "We're going to fix them."

"Fix them?" Kara repeated, her voice barely a whisper. "Fix them . . . how?"

"Oh, Kara," the woman said with a chuckle, looking at her the way an adult might when they were talking to a young child. "We've heard all about your felonies and violations. You've been disrupting time for years. These mistakes have been building up, and now they've caused a future that we must prevent. With this." She tapped a finger on the machine. "We can see into your memories, and we'll be able to see the precise moments where you've ruined time."

They could see her memories with that? The thought of them doing that made Kara very uncomfortable, but what else could she do? There was nothing she could do to stop them. And it wasn't like they were doing it to taunt her; they only wanted to stop the future from happening, and so did she. Maybe this _would_ help. If locking herself up wasn't enough, this could help in small ways too.

But if they fixed her "mistakes in time", did that mean her memories would change? For three years she'd been a time traveler. Would she still remember her millions of trips through time, or would the memories be altered in some way? More importantly, would this even change the future?

"I think we can learn a lot from you," the woman said. "In the past, we tried doing this with another time prisoner, but they unfortunately resigned after a few sessions." She stared intently at Kara, almost daring her to speak. "You'll help us, won't you?"

"Yes," Kara said, wondering why a sense of dread had overcome her as she said it. "But how do I know this will change the future? Where's the proof?"

"I suppose you'll just have to trust us," the woman murmured. "We're experimenting with it, that's all. With enough practice, our organization believes it will work."

Kara nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She was afraid. She didn't like this idea at all, but there was no backing out of it. These were time agents, and they were never going to relent. She had to do this. It was for the greater good of her future, so maybe some time agents poking around in her brain wouldn't be so terrible.

"Sit." The woman gestured to the chair at the center of the room. Nervously, Kara walked over and slowly lowered herself onto the cold metal chair, placing her hands on the table.

She watched as one of the guards approached the machine and picked up the bundle of wires, which weren't only wires like Kara had assumed. It was a device that was shaped like a helmet, which was made partly of metal as well as wire. Attached to the end of the device was a single wire, which connected the device to the machine.

As the guard fidgeted with the device, the other guard took Kara by the shoulders, causing her to jump. The woman nodded at the guard holding the device, and he slowly approached her. She tried not to squirm as the pressure on her shoulders increased. She felt something being strapped onto the top of her head, which caused her to instinctively flinch.

Once the device was secure, the guard continued holding her by the shoulders, while the other stepped back and retreated to the wall. Kara turned to look at the woman, trying to ignore the way her heart hammered in her chest. She clutched the edges of the table for support, digging her nails into the cold surface.

"Thank you for your cooperation," the woman said, typing something onto the machine. "We're going to begin. This may hurt a little."

Then, she pressed a button, and without warning, a barrage of images flashed across Kara's vision. They were going at a far faster pace than she could make sense of. A pressure filled her head, subtle at first, but it grew as the seconds wore on. Kara gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, moving around in her chair as the pain worsened.

"Kara," the woman warned. "Be still. _Don't_ give into the pain, or else we won't be able to get the correct information."

Kara could barely hear the woman's voice. She tried her hardest to concentrate on these images — because surely they were important — but they flew by so fast that she couldn't tell what they were. Each image overwhelmed her more than the last, and the pain in her head intensified until she could not take it any longer. Feeling as though her brain might explode at any moment, Kara began to scream.

"Keep her still!" she heard the woman shout, and her shoulders felt like boulders were pressing into them. Still screaming, she grabbed desperately at her head, forcefully ripping the device off in the process.

With the device gone, the pain subsided. Gasping in relief, Kara rested her weary body against the chair, all the energy zapped from her. Her screams died off immediately, and tears flooded her eyes, falling in streams down her cheeks. What _was_ that? Why had it hurt so much?

"Take her back to her room," the woman said coldly, and Kara was lifted from the chair.

"No! No, I tried everything! I tried to help, I —" Kara shouted, her voice strained. Once she was set onto the ground, she blindly threw a punch that landed nowhere, stumbling from the effort. The guards grabbed her by the elbows and began dragging her out of the room. She fought against the guards, trying desperately to get out of their hold, but she felt so weak that she doubted it would do anything.

They dragged her down the long, bright hallway until they came to her room. The door was opened, and Kara shouted in protest before she was shoved inside, where she landed hard on her back. Her face still coated with tears, she made it to her feet just as the door slammed shut, leaving her in utter darkness. Fear seized her. Not again!

"NO!" Kara screamed, her voice breaking as she banged her fists against the door. "I don't want to be here! Let me out! _Please_!"

Her face crumpled, and she gave up, letting herself slide to the floor of her cell. She never liked showing weakness, especially to the time agents that could care less about her well-being. It was impossible not to though. Especially after what that machine had done, and the pain it had caused her. She wasn't even sure why she was still crying. Maybe because of the pain, or maybe because of being locked up again.

Leaning her head against the wall, Kara continued to sob, and for some time she heard nothing else. Her body shook as her tears continued washing over her face like a waterfall. She buried her head into her hands, and for what felt like the millionth time, she wondered what she'd done wrong.

* * *

The town was under attack.

It didn't take long to see it, especially when they walked outside. Everywhere, all around them were fictional characters. This was something that no one could miss. It was _too_ _big_ to miss. Screams echoed around them, and people were fleeing their destroyed houses, not even looking where they were going. Police sirens wailed in the distance. It was a disaster. It was just like when the Magister had come to the real world, except now, none of the characters were simply locked in a tower.

The fictional characters were out in the open, and it was impossible to avoid them. There was a popular saying, something about "the world turning upside down", which Bethany vaguely remembered from her past conversations with Owen about the broadway show, _Hamilton_. Given what was happening, she had hardly any time to think on it.

The four of them raced to the car, wearing nothing but pajamas. With the house being attacked left and right, it'd been too late to grab anything. Their bare feet slapped soundly against the driveway, which was freezing cold since it was still February. Bethany was the only one with socks, since she preferred wearing them when she went to sleep in the winter. Even those barely warmed her, and she shivered the whole way as they made their way through the dark.

All of them were reasonably panicked — except for Kiel, who was enjoying himself. Bethany's mother retrieved her car keys, and with shaking hands, she pressed the button that opened the car. They piled inside — Owen and Kiel in the backseat, and Bethany in the passenger side — just as a loud roar echoed across the neighborhood, and the house opposite theirs lit on fire.

"Oh my god," Bethany could hear Owen whimper from the backseat, and she threw a glance over her shoulder to see him staring out the rearview window.

"What is it?" Kiel asked, turning around in his seat to look at it. Out in the street, fictional monsters were running or flying everywhere, some even attacking the people. She didn't know how much safer they'd be in the car.

Bethany had to put a hand over her chest, because she was having trouble breathing. She'd had panic attacks before, but never because of something this huge. The Magister escaping his book had been one thing. This was another thing entirely! _Everything_ had gone wrong. This was the worst possible thing that could happen! The _worst_! And now, her mother knew her secret. She hoped the floor would swallow her up forever.

" _What_ is going on, Bethany?" her mother demanded as she turned the car on. Her expression was a frighting mixture of both terror and rage. "What is this? What are these fictional characters doing here?! How did they get here? Did you jump into books? Have you been jumping into books?"

"I have," Bethany whispered, not knowing what else to say.

She tried to slow her breaths, but her adrenaline was so high that she couldn't stop shaking. She deflated into her seat, playing with the ends of her hair. She was too embarrassed to look at her friends, who were probably giving her pitying looks right now. She didn't want them to feel bad for her.

"And after years, _years_ , of telling you never to jump into books because of what happened to your father!" her mother cried. "What did you do? You brought fictional characters here!" Her voice rose to a shout, and Bethany flinched, not sure if she was more afraid of her mother or the attack. "I don't know what to do with you! God, what am I _supposed_ to do?"

"I'm sorry," Bethany managed to say, unable to look her mother in the eye. She deserved this. After years of hiding and sneaking around and lying, and all the guilt that had been building up, it felt perfectly reasonable that her mother would react this way. She knew she'd been doing the wrong thing by going behind her mother's back, but it'd been the only way she could look for her father. Now she had to pay for it. She'd probably be grounded for the rest of time.

"It wasn't her fault," Owen protested, then quickly looked away when Bethany's mother glared at him.

"You knew about this?" she demanded. "You knew about her powers?" Her friends only nodded, their eyes cast to the floor. "What else has been going on that I don't know about?"

"More than you think," Kiel replied, and to Bethany's aggravation and horror, he winked.

"Don't, Kiel," Bethany whispered, shaking her head over and over. Owen face-palmed.

" _Are you trying to be funny_? You think this is a _joke_? Huh?" Bethany's mother shouted, and now all three of them shrunk in their seats.

"I wasn't trying to be funny," Kiel said. Then, he cracked a hesitant smile. "Well . . . maybe a little."

Her mother stared at him for a second longer before looking at Bethany, shaking her head as she muttered things under her breath. "We're going to have a _very_ long discussion later, and you're going to tell me every little thing you've lied to me about. I'm sure there's a lot I don't know about. I can't even express how angry I am right now! All this time, I thought you were actually doing what I asked you to do!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Bethany stuttered, wondering how it was possible for her to feel so guilty, furious, shameful, and terrified all at once. Along with that, she was having a nervous breakdown. _And_ it was three in the morning. Could this day get any worse? Absolutely anything that could go wrong had gone wrong, and right now, it seemed like nothing could be done to fix it. "I was only trying to find Dad."

That was her biggest problem. Every time she'd jumped into a book, the reason had always been to find him. Even the quest for defeating Nobody had been intended not only to save the fictional world, but also to bring her father home. She got reckless, hardly considering the consequences it might cause.

She either thought too much or too little, but when it came to her father, she never stopped to think before she leaped. Not even once.

Something shook the earth, and Bethany was reminded once again of what was happening outside. "Can we get to the library?" she asked, her voice trembling despite her efforts to speak clearly.

"Bethany!" Bethany's mother scolded. "We are _not_ going there. I'm not allowing you near a book ever again! I won't ever let you do that!"

"No, we _need_ to get there!" Owen pleaded. "Please, Mrs. Sanderson! It's the only way to put the fictional characters back! They're going to destroy the world if they stay here!"

"It'll take ages to put them all back," Bethany said, frowning. "But we can't get rid of them without books. There's no other way! Mom, can you drive us?"

Her mother gave her a warning look. "It's too dangerous. My answer is no."

Disappointment and even anger blossomed in Bethany's chest, and Owen said, "Well, if you won't let us go to the library, then we can use Kiel's magic!"

"Magic?!" Bethany's mother gasped.

Undeterred, Kiel replied with confidence. "I'd love to, but my spell book is at my house. We'll need to get it back, if Mrs. Sanderson is willing." He frowned. "Isn't that kind of torturous, though? I'm already a bit tired from fighting that dragon. If I cast any more spells, I'll be exhausted soon."

"You have magic," Bethany's mother stated, her face unreadable now. Kiel nodded. She frowned deeply. "I'm guessing you're a . . . fictional character. Yet another one that Bethany took out of their book."

"I don't really like the term 'fictional'," Kiel said. "But yes, I am. I'm Kiel Gnomenfoot. You know, from the greatest book series of all time."

Bethany's mother only shook her head. "Lucky for you, I've never heard of it."

"We need Kiel's magic," Bethany said, looking directly at her mother. She clasped her hands together to stop their shaking. "At least drive us there! We need to stop this before it gets any worse! And we need books to do it —"

"I said _no_! You are not jumping into any more books, Bethany. I don't want to lose you, just like we lost your father! Do you understand me?"

"C'mon, Mrs. Sanderson!" Owen protested. "Listen to Bethany! We need books and Kiel's magic if we want to stop them! Don't you want to get rid of them?"

Bethany gave Owen a grateful look. She slammed her hands on the seat. "Exactly! There's a chance we can still stop the fictional characters. We just need —"

Her mother narrowed her eyes. " _Do you understand me_?"

"I don't!" Kiel said. "I get that you're against fictionals, which is highly insulting since I'm fictional myself. But we've done many more dangerous things than this. This'll be fun!"

"Yeah," Owen said in a much quieter voice. "All you have to do is drive us. Please?"

"Please, Mom?" Bethany requested hopefully, knowing that her mother would likely say no. She'd been hiding her trips into books for years. How would her mother ever forgive her now, much less help her get rid of some fictional characters that had escaped their books?

"I don't know . . ." Bethany's mother sighed deeply, stared at Bethany, then reluctantly nodded. The distraught look on her face made Bethany's heart twinge in pain. "But this is the last time I'm allowing you to do these kinds of things. The last time! And after that, no more. It's very dangerous, and to know that you likely have already gotten yourselves hurt . . ." She placed her hand on the wheel and started slowly pulling out of the driveway. "You'd better explain yourself once we have the time for it. I'm very against this, Bethany. _Very_ against this. I'm outraged! I hope you know that you're never, _ever_ going to do a thing like this again. Is that clear?"

"Yeah," Bethany said in a weak voice, turning her gaze to the window. Her face burned. It should be impossible for everything to go so badly, but she should've known by now that it wasn't. She was the only one to blame for this. None of this was supposed to happen, and she didn't even know why it had.

She was so tired of making mistakes. That was all she seemed to do. She felt so ashamed for thinking everything would work out once she defeated Nobody. Things didn't work out that way, not in real life. Something had gone terribly wrong, and it could've had something to do with her and Owen locking Nobody up with the chains. But she didn't know, and she didn't want to try piecing it together right now. Her brain was barely comprehending anything right now, what with her anxiety and fear skyrocketing through the roof.

They pulled out of the driveway, almost slamming into a goblin that was running after an unfortunate person. Bethany's mother spun the wheel around and put the car in drive, pressing her foot on the gas pedal. They navigated through the dark street, the car's headlights doing little to help them see. Fictional creatures were everywhere, and several times they were close to hitting their car. They hadn't stopped yelling through the whole process.

They had just reached the road when a giant stepped in front of them. Bethany's mother shrieked, slamming on the brakes and sending them all falling forward. Terrified, Bethany craned her head up, giving her just enough time to see the giant's enormous face before the car started to shake. Her mouth dropped open, and beside her, her mother screamed. A loud groaning noise filled Bethany's ears, and above them, the roof was slowly crushing itself inward.

Owen let out a scream as the roof grew more and more dented every time the giant hit it. "It's gonna crush us!" His voice rose an octave. "Out of the car, out of the car!"

Bethany opened her door with much effort, since it was partly crushed. She fell to the ground with a grunt, then quickly pushed her hands beneath her to rise to her feet, blowing the hair out of her face. Beside her, the giant pounded it's fist into the car, causing a loud beeping noise to erupt from it. Bethany jumped. Her heart racing, she broke into a run to get out of the giant's reach, catching up with her friends and mother, who had the same idea as her.

"What are we going to do?" Owen asked in a hushed voice once she reached them. They backed away into the sidewalk, staring with wide eyes as the giant threw it's fists into the car, crushing it further.

"I don't know. We have to do _something_ ," Bethany said, her teeth chattering. Whether it was from the cold or the fear, she couldn't tell. "The car's gone. The fictional monsters are everywhere!" She glanced at her mother, who looked like she was about to faint. With the car gone, where else could they go? What could they do without books or Kiel's magic? Bethany winced, realizing she needed to think of something quickly.

"Okay, I have a plan," Kiel said, pulling out his wand-knives. "I'll fight the giant with the remaining spells I have. And every other creature I come across." He grinned, but Bethany could tell that even _he_ looked a bit worried.

"That's not a plan," Bethany retorted. "You can't handle them on your own. I have my shape-shifting powers too, but even _that_ won't hold them off."

"Shape-shifting powers?" Bethany's mother repeated, seeming like she wasn't really focused, as she was busy staring with horror at the giant.

"It'll be fine!" Kiel said. He winked at Bethany and Owen, but it seemed more forced than usual. "I can distract them while you escape somewhere."

"What?" Owen said, his jaw dropping. He shook his head. "No! You can't go out there! We have to go to the library right away! We can get the books there!" He looked wildly around, shivering in his pajamas. The giant eventually got bored from hitting the car and tossed it to the side, sending it hurtling into a random person's house. It matched off into a different direction, it's footfalls shaking the ground beneath Bethany's feet.

They watched in silence before Bethany glanced at her mother, then spoke again to her friends. "Wait . . ." She furrowed her brows. "I don't know if we _can_ go to the library. If these creatures are jumping _out_ of books . . ."

Owen's eyes widened. "You're right! Then maybe the library wouldn't be the best place to go. The fictional characters would be all _over_ the library! There are _thousands_ of books in there! Unless we can sneak our way in somehow, I don't know how we'll get there without getting into more danger."

"Then we get my spell book and cast some spells that will destroy the books, and the library," Kiel reasoned. "Won't that stop the problem? The monsters can't escape anymore that way."

Owen looked horrified. "We can't destroy books! That's my mom's library you're talking about!"

"Right," Kiel murmured. "Sorry."

"We need to find some way to stop the creatures from jumping out of their books," Bethany said, watching as more fictional monsters emerged from houses and flooded the streets. "And then we need to locate all of them." She massaged her aching head, pulling at her hair. "And _then_ we need to put them back into books, find out what's causing it, and stop whatever's happening somehow. I have a feeling something very bad is going on. Ugh. None of this was supposed to happen!"

"You think it had something to do with Nobody from earlier?" Owen asked quietly. Bethany didn't respond. If it was, that would mean that she and Owen were the cause of this mess. She couldn't take more guilt. No, it couldn't be from what they'd done. They'd locked Nobody up for good, so this was entirely a different problem. The characters escaping their books had nothing to do with that, Bethany convinced herself.

"It'd be much better if characters like Harry Potter were popping out instead of monsters," Owen added. "What about the Percy Jackson characters? Or —"

"Kara?" Bethany offered, giving him a smug smile despite the situation. He gave her a look in response.

"I know this isn't going to be fun for you guys," Kiel said. "But look on the bright side. When things are as bad as they can get, what's there to worry about?"

Bethany rolled her eyes. She'd heard that plenty of times. Didn't he know her well enough by now? She always worried! The only time she'd never been worried was when she was fully fictional, which had been a relief. With the way her thoughts raced around her brain, she wished she could shut them off sometimes. It would really help her to be calm, especially in a situation like this where life had gotten as bad as it could get.

"A lot of things!" Owen said. "This is really horrible!"

"Agreed," Bethany said, nodding at Owen. She wasn't sure how much more anxious she could get, which was saying plenty. "There is _everything_ to worry about, and we have to save our whole town before more bad things happen, when enough bad things have already happened!"

The four of them drew further back into the trees as a group of dragons flew past. ""We need to have a plan," Owen said, looking back and forth between Bethany and Kiel. "A _good_ plan. Everyone's life is in danger with them here. If we find a way to put them back into books, we'll save the town. How we'll do that, I'm not really sure. But we've gotta get to the bottom of this, and finding some books or —" He snapped his fingers. "Or even sheets of paper! That would be the best option, especially since Kiel gets tired after using magic."

"I'll be fine if I use magic," Kiel said. "Yeah, I tend to get tired when I use it in this world, but it'll help to get rid of the monsters. Fighting them sounds fun anyway!"

"It really doesn't," Owen countered. "There are practically millions of them everywhere! This isn't the fictional world, Kiel. We're not in a book! It's real life! There's no easy way to fix this. We're in so, _so_ much trouble."

"Yeah, I know." Kiel did a little shrug, his brows knitted. "But where's the fun if there's no challenge? I'll be able to help you out, too."

"Um, no, that's not —"

"I'll definitely be better in a fight now then when I was fighting Oliver," he continued, apparently not hearing Owen. "That boy was _crazy."_

"Paper sounds like a good idea," Bethany said, her frustration growing. "No fictional characters would be jumping out of it that way. But . . . where would we get it?" Her brain spun, and she glanced worriedly at her mother, who remained silent and frozen in fear. "Maybe we should go to Kiel's house first, if we can make it there. With his magic, maybe we can —"

All of the sudden, a loud, blaring noise erupted from a distance away, sounding awfully similar to a civil defense siren. That was when Bethany realized — it _was_ a civil defense siren. Their town had never needed to use it before, but it made sense that someone was turning it on now. So this wasn't just going on in her neighborhood. It was going on everywhere in her town, and if she could guess, it could've even been going on throughout the entire _world_.

"Um, what?" Owen blinked. " _What_ is going on now?"

"What is that noise?" Kiel asked, watching as some of the creatures made noises of distress from the insanely loud siren.

"Our town's civil defense siren," Bethany's mother piped up, finally talking again after several minutes of silence. "It's an emergency population warning for approaching danger."

"Approaching?" Owen repeated. "Isn't it a little late for that?"

"Yeah," Bethany said. "But no one could've known about this." Not knowing what else to do, she took another small step backward. The sound of police sirens and fictional monsters was deafening, and she wished she could make the noises go away. They had to do something, and with the civil defense siren blaring, she knew they probably wouldn't have much time.

"Paper," Bethany said, narrowing her eyes. "Let's find some paper."

* * *

It'd taken a lot of convincing to make Bethany's mother agree to let them go, once they assured her that they would try to be as safe as possible. She was still very against the idea, but she seemed to realize there was no other option, so she let them go. She had even decided to stay behind to help other people, which wasn't much of a surprise to Owen. This whole situation must've been mind-blowing for her, and she didn't have the same agility as Bethany, Owen, and Kiel anyway.

Amidst the chaos of the fictional creatures and people running around, things was feeling more and more like a fever dream and less like real life to Owen. The run to Kiel's house had resulted in them almost getting attacked by a group of gargoyles, but they'd managed to outrun them. Maybe it was because of the situation, but Owen was having trouble remembering that he _wasn't_ in the fictional world.

Once they finally got there (where there thankfully weren't any fictional characters around), Kiel grabbed his spell book to take with him. Then, insisting that, "I'm never going to leave my cape behind!", he put his cape on, although both Owen and Bethany thought it might attract unwanted attention to him.

Now equipped with at least one form of defense, they set off in search of some paper. Owen knew it'd be much easier to just grab books and use them to trap the monsters. But it was impossible to tell if the creatures would keep jumping right back out of them. Granted, it _should_ be impossible for fictional characters to jump out at all. There'd never been a time — aside from when Kiel had used his spell to get here — where a character had jumped out without Bethany's help.

So how had characters randomly appeared out of their books?

Owen knew nothing about what was happening, or more specifically, _why_ it was happening. It was all so confusing! It was a complete mystery to him, which made him feel even more uneasy. Mysteries were the absolute _worst_. He'd stopped reading them after getting trapped in that Doyle Holmes book. He was up for anything except mysteries — they just had too many hidden clues and twists that made no sense.

As the three of them walked out of Kiel's house and traveled down the chilly street, Owen's thoughts were on his mother and his beloved library. With the state the town was in, he doubted his mother was doing much better than the rest of them. But he couldn't help but worry, anyway. His own house had loads of books in it, so there was no way his mother was safe. He really hoped she was okay, and he hoped their plan would work.

Their town was in danger, and Owen had a feeling it had something to do with Nobody. Maybe this had been a side effect of Nobody being locked up? Once again, it meant that this whole mess could've been his fault. Sure, it'd been Bethany's idea, but he hadn't stopped her! Maybe he should have. What if it had made things worse by locking Nobody up?

Owen took a deep breath. Okay, no, there was no proof to say that his and Bethany's quest had caused this. Maybe it had, but there was no way of knowing. Even as he told himself this, there was a familiar sinking feeling in his stomach, and it wouldn't go away. What if it was actually his fault? Deep down, he couldn't help but blame himself, even if there wasn't any proof that it _had_ been his fault.

"You alright, Owen?" Kiel asked him, visibly cold as he tried to warm himself. They were walking along a mostly-empty street. A lot of houses were destroyed, but it seemed that the fictional creatures had already moved through here.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Owen lied, forcing a smile. "Just cold." He looked over at Bethany, who was on Kiel's other side. She'd been quiet ever since they left Kiel's house, and was most likely more afraid than she let on. Owen knew better. He knew she was just as worried — if not more — than he was.

This whole thing seemed impossible to fix, especially when three kids were trying to put thousands of fictional characters back into their books. Owen didn't know how they'd achieve it, or how they'd even find where all the monsters were. They were scattered everywhere, which meant it'd take days to put them all back into books. It was clear that this wouldn't go unnoticed by anyone, either. If they weren't already, the News would be all over it soon enough.

Somewhere very close by, a roar echoed across the town, and the ground below them started to vibrate. Owen, Bethany, and Kiel stopped in their tracks as a T-Rex — just like the ones in Owen's nightmares — emerged from behind an intact house. Owen stopped breathing. It was one thing to see it in his dreams; he could always wake up and find himself back in his own bedroom. But this was real life, and he wasn't in _Pick The Plot_ anymore. This was no longer just his imagination. It was real.

The dinosaur stepped closer, it's eyes now fixated on them. Owen's legs had turned to roughly the consistency of jelly, and he was suddenly unable to stop them from wobbling. Then, a hand laid on his shoulder, and he jumped.

"It's okay," Bethany said quietly as Kiel stared at Owen with concern. "Me and Kiel will handle it."

"Yeah." Kiel winked. "Sit back and relax! Act like you're reading a Kiel Gnomenfoot book! That will surely take all your fears away."

That made Owen smile in spite of himself. Bethany smiled a little, too. "Hey, not everything is about _your_ books. _I_ was apart of a book series, too. Also, I'm pretty sure there weren't any dinosaurs in your series."

"Okay, _Twilight Girl_ ," Owen said, and Kiel laughed. He felt relieved that he wouldn't have to fight a dinosaur again. This time, he had his friends to help him out. Not that he could fight much of anything, anyway. All he had were his time powers, and in this situation, he didn't see how they could be helpful. As always, he was the sidekick that sometimes, _sometimes_ , was helpful. The only thing he could do was come up with an elaborate plan and try not to get hurt along the way.

Another heavy footfall made them all come back to their senses, and they turned to see the dinosaur walking closer to them, loudly sniffing the air. Too afraid to move, Owen could only watch as Kiel leapt forward casting a spell that made an impossibly bright light shine into the dinosaur's eyes. The T-Rex growled, whipping it's head around in confusion.

Giving Owen one last look, Bethany ran forward and transformed into a rocket, hitting the dinosaur in the chest and sending it falling backwards. Kiel then shouted something, and ice appeared on the ground beneath the T-Rex. It was unable to regain it's balance, and between being blinded, it fell to the ground, creating a mini earthquake. Owen ran over to stand beside his friends, and they all stared at the creature from a safe distance away.

"It'd be helpful if we had some books right about now," Bethany muttered, and Owen and Kiel nodded their agreement.

"Isn't there a spell that can trap it somehow?" Owen asked Kiel, who was swaying slightly on his feet, looking completely winded. "Maybe we could even use a shrinking spell, or a spell that'll keep it from escaping."

"Good idea, Owen!" Kiel said, yawning despite his efforts to stay awake. "I don't know how long the paralyzing spell could last, but maybe the . . . the shrinking spell . . . will." His eyes briefly closed, only for them to snap open again. He lifted his wand-knives and pointed them at the dinosaur. "One shrinking spell, coming right up."

Before they could do anything, however, a car's engine was heard behind them, and a man's voice rung out. "Hey! What do you think you're doing? Get away from there!"

Kiel quickly pocketed his wand-knives, and the three of them turned around to see a large bus with blackened windows. The bright lights that shone from the bus almost blinded Owen, and he and Bethany lifted their arms over their eyes to see better.

"Hello?" Owen shouted, squinting his eyes.

"Who's there?" Bethany called.

"What did I say?" the same voice asked. "Get in the vehicle before you hurt yourselves!"

Glancing one last time at the dinosaur behind them, Owen and his friends ran towards the vehicle and came around the side, where a man in a military outfit was standing at the door. He stepped back, ordering them to come inside.

"Wait, where is this taking us?" Owen demanded, refusing to step in the bus. For all he knew, this could definitely be a trick. He didn't want to get captured again when he could be getting rid of the fictional characters here. They didn't even have the paper yet!

The man sighed. "We're evacuating the people of this town to a safer location. It's necessary for you all to be somewhere safe while we figure out how to get rid of these . . . things. There's a large hotel an hour from here that'll fit all of you, which is where we're going."

Owen nodded, feeling a lump in his throat. Their plan would have to be postponed, unless these people could handle the fictionals on their own. He stepped onto the bus, which was surprisingly warm. He shivered, but he wasn't focused on the temperature anymore. The bus was filled with people he didn't recognize. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He recognized a few faces from the people he'd seen at the library, but he didn't see many people his age.

He walked towards the back of the bus, only to stop moving as he saw not only Mrs. Sanderson, but also his mother.

"Mom?" Owen said, relief flooding through him. He was even more relieved to see Spike and Bark Vader on the seat next to her. His mother looked up with a gasp, then leapt from her seat and pulled him into a tight hug. His eyes started to water, so he closed them and hugged her back.

She then pulled away. "I was worried about you! _Never_ go running off like that again! Bethany's mother said that you and Bethany and Kiel were trying to save the town."

"Sorry," Owen said, giving her a bright smile. "We won't." She took a shaky breath, then smiled and looked over at Bethany and Kiel, who were standing behind him. She hugged them, too, saying something about how happy she was that they were safe.

Bethany went to go sit with her mother, so Owen and Kiel shared the seat behind where Owen's mother was. Owen leaned his head against the seat, wondering how everything had gone so badly. It was good to know that they were being taken somewhere safe, but they also needed to get rid of the fictional creatures! Owen really hoped that the authorities be able to do the job for them. He wasn't sure if they could, but right now, he only felt exhausted and relieved.

"I guess school's out," Kiel whispered to Owen as they rode past a deserted school building. For the first time since the fictional invasion, Owen laughed.

* * *

They'd filled both Owen's and Bethany's mother's in on everything that had happened. While Bethany had quietly told Mrs. Sanderson a much more in-depth story about the years she'd been jumping into books, Owen and Kiel told Owen's mother much of the same. They'd left out plenty, such as the times they'd been in immense danger. Which was almost _every_ time they'd been in a book, but their parents didn't need to know that. It'd only horrify them further.

Owen's mother had been disbelieving at first, and even seemed to be in shock. Owen remembered exactly how he felt when he first discovered Bethany pulling herself out of _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_. He hadn't been able to handle it at first, either! If his mother fainted too, he'd feel a lot better about things.

It must've been a huge shock for her, but after the fictional characters had invaded, she realized they were right. Unfortunately, she hadn't fainted. Not yet, at least. It seemed that Owen was the only one who had when he learned the truth, which was embarrassing enough to think about.

Somewhere along the bus ride, Owen had even found the courage to tell her about _Pick The Plot_. It wasn't easy, but he'd left out a lot of details. Kiel had helped him recount some things, too, since he had read the first few chapters of the book. Owen explained that a girl named Kara had gotten him through it, and she'd become a great friend to him. Owen's mother agreed that she was incredible, and could be compared to a superhero.

The impossible had happened, and Owen was glad that no one else knew about Bethany's powers. If they did, there was no telling what they'd do to her. Would they get rid of her, just like they would get rid of the fictional characters? The same could go for Kiel, who was fictional himself. Hopefully, no one would find out who they really were. If anyone besides their parents did, they'd be in danger. And they'd be in a _lot_ more trouble than they were already.

When thousands of questions were answered and things finally quieted down, Owen leaned back against the seat, trying to get comfortable. As expected after casting all of those spells, Kiel was exhausted, and had fallen asleep almost instantly. His head was resting against Owen's shoulder, not giving Owen much room to move around.

Once he finally was in a position that seemed at least a little comfortable, Owen closed his eyes, focusing on the hum of the engine. He tried to fall asleep on the bus for his own sake, but he couldn't do it. He wished he had a book to read. His mind was running in circles, and this day had been far too crazy. He wasn't sure if he could ever sleep with the knowledge that today had actually happened. It felt like a dream — and not a good one.

So instead, Owen let his imagination run wild. At first, he wasn't able to imagine much of anything. So he imagined what he wanted to happen.

He imagined the creatures all getting captured and put back into their books. He imagined saving the worlds and being called a hero. He imagined jumping into books for fun again, simply enjoying himself with his friends and not having to worry about a single thing. That made him imagine going to the fictional world again, which lead to him imagining seeing Charm again and telling her the truth . . . about him not being Kiel Gnomenfoot.

It was difficult to even imagine her doing it, but he tried to imagine her accepting him for this, and even becoming his girlfriend. Once that happened, Owen would try to act cool while he secretly screamed inside. However, every time he tried to imagine that, he couldn't. He didn't know why. Maybe his imagination couldn't picture anything he hadn't really seen before? That made sense. Although, couldn't authors picture things they hadn't seen before? He thought so.

If Owen wanted to be an author, he'd have to learn to do that. The last time he'd truly imagined anything was a day or two ago, when he'd been working at the library. Maybe Jonathan Porterhouse or that James Riley guy could help him with strengthening his imagination, since they were authors. Or maybe he'd just have to practice that on his own.

Somewhere at the front of the bus, he could hear voices speaking. He tilted his body to the side and peered out into the isle, where he saw a stressed woman talking to the man from earlier.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," the man was saying, his forehead creased from worry. "It's no longer safe to stay here. As far as we know, this isn't happening in any other part of the world, so the best we can do is evacuate you to a safer place while our military comes in and gets rid of these monsters."

"But where are they all coming from?" the woman asked in a trembling voice. "This is all so impossible!"

"We're not sure, yet," the man said. "But we'll figure it out soon, I promise. Some people think they saw them crawling out of _books_. I guess we'll have to investigate all the libraries. Maybe even destroy some of the books and the libraries themselves, if the monsters are actually coming out of there. We don't have enough information right now, so once we do some investigating, we should be able to tell where these things are coming from."

Owen made a choking sound. They going to _what_?! They couldn't destroy the library! They just couldn't! That would _not_ be good. If that happened, his mother wouldn't have a job anymore. Owen would never get to spend his afternoons at the library with Bethany and Kiel, he'd never get to visit the fictional worlds ever again, and he'd never get to see his other friends again. Out of any possible future that could happen, this was surely the worst outcome.

As images of his mother's library burning down filled his head, the woman shook her head. "I-I don't think they're coming out of books. That sounds crazy."

"This whole thing is crazy," the man said, and Owen released a breath. Whew. There was only so much time before the people actually figured out where the creatures were coming from, and when they did, Owen _really_ hoped they wouldn't destroy the library. What if they destroyed books, too? The thought was horrifying.

Books had always been his greatest comfort, and they'd been there for him when he had no one else. All his life, he'd been surrounded by them. He'd fallen in love with the stories they told, and they were what kept him dreaming at night. Owen had always lived by his imagination, deciding long ago that he preferred daydreaming over real life.

But out of all the millions of impossible things that his imagination could conjure up, books being destroyed wasn't something he could ever imagine. Even now, in the face of a fictional invasion, he still could never imagine it. It would never happen. It _couldn't_ happen, and he would never, _ever_ let it come to that if he could do something about it.

Their conversation died down, and Owen shut his eyes, feeling a wave of tiredness wash over him. He must've fallen asleep at some point, because when he opened his eyes, the sun was peaking out over the horizon. The bus was no longer moving, and was now stationed in front of a hotel. Many people were already awake, looking bedraggled and worried. The man was at the front of the bus, answering questions that people had.

"How long are we going to be here?" an old man asked, who was a few feet away from Owen.

"We're not sure," the man in the military uniform said. "But it shouldn't be more than a few weeks, or maybe longer."

"A few _weeks_?" Owen repeated, glancing at the boy magician next to him. How were they going to save the world now? Who knew what could happen in that amount of time!

Kiel rubbed his eyes, looking equally tired. "I don't know why they can't let us stay in your town. I can take those monsters down with my magic within seconds. These guys? They obviously aren't as unique as I am."

"We'll be safer here," Owen replied, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was needed elsewhere. He knew it wasn't right to sit in a hotel and wait for someone else to do the job for them. But what choice did they have? They didn't have a choice in this matter. He was just a fifteen year-old kid, and having a broken arm didn't help his case.

After everyone was woken up, they were escorted off the bus. Owen grabbed Bark Vader and hurriedly connected her leash to her collar before dragging her along with him. Owen flinched as his bare feet touched down on the cold sidewalk, and he stared up at the hotel, which, in all honesty, was the best thing he'd ever seen. Since he and his mother never went on trips, he'd never been to a hotel before. Owen had always wanted to go to one, but he never expected his first stay at a hotel to be for reasons like this.

Next to come out was Kiel, who's cape blew slightly in the wind as he looked at the group around him. He went to stand beside Owen, hugging his spell book close to his body. Carrying Spike in the crook of her elbow, Owen's mother hopped off the bus shortly after, having nothing with her but a small backpack. She smiled at Owen, but he could tell she was worried.

More people exited the bus and clustered in a group in front of the door, some holding bags and some empty-handed. That was when Owen noticed another bus parked right in front of theirs, and two more were pulling into the hotel's driveway. He realized that they must've been holding all of the townspeople, and there were likely more buses coming.

Bethany climbed off the bus, being one of the last people to do so. There were bags under her eyes, and her eyes were red, which made Owen wonder if she'd gotten any sleep. She quietly sidled up beside Owen, Mrs. Sanderson following close behind her.

"Did you get any sleep?" Owen asked Bethany, frowning.

She only shook her head, tucking her hair behind her ears. "I couldn't."

"Me neither," Owen said. "Well, I guess I _could_ , because I actually did fall asleep. But for a while, I couldn't do it. Too much happened yesterday. I still can't believe it happened!"

"I know what you mean," Bethany said, yawning. "How'd you sleep, Kiel?"

"Great!" Kiel said. "Although I really could use some food right now. You think they have any pancakes here?"

"Oh, _breakfast_ ," Owen murmured, his eyes lighting up. If there was anything to look forward to right now, it was that. Thinking of breakfast made him think of Kara, and he remembered her words as clearly as if she was right beside him. _Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I hear,_ she had said.

"Probably." Bethany shrugged, giving them a tired smile. "I would love that."

The two buses — now empty — drove away as two more buses rolled up, coming to a stop in front of the sidewalk. The man in the military uniform clapped his hands, grabbing everyone's attention. "Come inside, everyone! This hotel has generously allowed you to stay here for as long as needed. Once you go inside, you and your families will be escorted to your own room. Once everyone is settled in, there is also a store right across the street for anyone that needs it. The hotel will provide you with food and showers, but I'm sure you'll want to get clothes and other supplies." He smiled good-naturedly. "Unless you all want to keep wearing pajamas."

This released some of the tension in the crowd, making some people laugh a little. Owen glanced down at his own clothes, unable to prevent the blush from rising to his cheeks. He was wearing light blue, _Star Wars_ themed pajamas. To save himself the embarrassment of being teased, he had to get some new clothes right away.

"Follow me," the man said, moving to push open the door. He and a hotel worker held the double doors open as the group walked through, piling into the lobby. The hotel wasn't anything fancy, but it was big, which was all that mattered. Owen didn't know if he could take being cramped in here with hundreds of other people.

Once everyone was inside, a woman started calling families forward, where they were taken to their individual rooms. Owen watched as family after family were guided upstairs, each looking a mixture of tired and scared. Luckily, Owen did not have to wait long for his name to be called, since families were being called by their last name. Good thing his last name was Conners, or else he might become bored out of his mind!

As his mother started to follow the woman, Owen tugged on Bark Vader's leash and nudged Kiel. Since he wasn't apart of a family, it was better that he share a room with Owen before the authorities discovered he was fictional. "Come with me and my mom."

"Why?" the boy magician asked, then seemed to realize the reason. "Oh, right. That's a good idea."

"What are you doing?" Bethany whispered.

"Kiel's going to stay in my room," Owen explained. "We're just going to pretend he's my brother or something."

"Yeah," Kiel said, winking. "Don't we look alike?"

Bethany snorted, then quickly covered her mouth as people nearby gave her weird looks. "You guys should get going."

Owen nodded, giving her an uneasy smile before he and Kiel quickly caught up with Owen's mother. As Owen walked up the stairs, he thought back to the fictional monsters flooding his town. Confusion and fear filled him. It was hard not to worry when he was an hour's drive away from the scene, and he couldn't do anything to help. After everything that had gone down, he had no idea what to do now.

What would this mean for the fictional world? And what would happen when the authorities discovered the monsters were coming out of books?

* * *

 _"I have made every single mistake that you could ever possibly make. I took and I took and I took what you gave . . ."_


	25. Locked In

_**The Kids Aren't Alright (by Fall Out Boy)**_

 _"_ _And in the end I'd do it all again. I think you're my best friend. Don't you know that the kids aren't all, kids aren't alright . . ."_

* * *

Still a bit groggy from the bus ride and the events of the early morning, Kiel and Owen trailed behind Ms. Conners as they made their way to their hotel room, which would be their home for the next week or two. They were on the second floor, and the hallway had dozens of closed doors, each with a number on them. They reached the middle of the hallway, where the woman opened the door for them and left them with three cards.

Kiel was the first to go inside. Pushing past Owen in the doorway, he walked inside the room and was slightly disappointed to see two beds, a dresser, a closet, and a bathroom. Not much. Apparently, this hotel offered only what was necessary and not anything helpful or fun, like books that they could jump into.

"Put your things away," Ms. Conners said as she walked into the room, placing her backpack on a chair beside the window. "I guess we should follow that man's advice and go to the store."

"What about Spike and Bark Vadar?" Owen asked, peering into the bathroom.

"We'll keep them here."

"What?" he exclaimed. "But they've never been away from home before! What if they think we abandoned them?"

"Alphonse never missed me when I was away," Kiel said, earning a glare from Owen. Kiel gave a _what?_ look in response, but his friend looked back at his mother.

"They won't think that. Don't worry about them," Ms. Conners said, running her hands through her hair. Her face was paler than usual. "They'll be safe here. Come on, let's get going before everyone gets to the store first. You boys ready?"

"I don't have any money with me, so I guess," Owen said, shrugging. He unhooked Bark Vadar's leash, allowing the dog to happily walk over to Kiel, where he scratched her head. Meanwhile, Spike retreated to sit on the windowsill, his black hair gleaming in the sunlight. It was seven in the morning, so the sun was low in the horizon, offering enough light to see by.

Kiel glanced around for somewhere to put his spell book and wand-knives. He didn't like the idea of leaving them behind, especially because he'd never been here before, but he couldn't risk someone finding his belongings. He stuffed them underneath one of the beds, hoping that that would be a good place to put them.

He was about to follow Owen and his mother out the door when Owen reminded him of something. "Uh, you know that you're still wearing your cape, right?"

Of course he knew. Did he want to take it off? Definitely not. He'd barely been able to wear it when he was in the nonfictional world. He _missed_ it! Kiel crossed his arms, ready to protest, but Ms. Conners beat him to it.

"I don't think you should wear that, honey," she said gently. "Everyone's on edge right now, and I'm afraid what would happen if they find out who you are."

"I get it," Kiel said, forcing a smile as he tried to brush away the small twinge of annoyance he felt. It had came on so suddenly, once the realization came to him, that he might be staying in this hotel for longer than he'd like.

Why couldn't they just fight the monsters and have some fun? Why did this "military" have to take control of that? Didn't they know who Kiel Gnomenfoot _was_? He could handle anything these monsters threw at him _and_ more. A part of him wanted to take that military guy down, steal one of those buses, then spout off something snappy and daring as he drove away. Just so these people knew who they were dealing with.

Unfortunately, Kiel knew that he couldn't do that. Not without his friends, at least. For now, leaving wasn't really an option. Although it left a bad taste in his mouth to think of someone else fighting those monsters instead of him, there was nothing he could do about it.

Kiel just didn't understand why the monsters — fictional, just like him — were escaping their books. It didn't help that Owen and Bethany didn't know, either. He had no idea what it meant, and it worried him. Last time he checked, the fictional world had been dying until Bethany and Owen defeated Nobody. _Kiel_ had almost died because of the state that the fictional world was in. What state was the fictional world in now?

With the monsters jumping out of books on their own . . . it didn't make any sense. He had so many questions that just couldn't be answered. Was the fictional world worse than before? Was it better? Had something gone wrong in his own world? He might never know. With the way things were looking, he wasn't sure what the outcome would be.

"Sorry," Owen whispered as Kiel joined him at the door again, now cape-less. They started walking down the hallway. "I just don't think it's a good idea to wear that. I heard some people talking on the bus, and the man from earlier thought that the monsters could be jumping out of books. He wasn't sure, but he said that they'd investigate the libraries. And he said that if it was true, he'd destroy the libraries, _and_ the books inside."

Kiel's eyes widened. "What? He said that?"

"Yeah," Owen said quietly, his voice faltering slightly. "I don't want that to happen. That _can't_ happen! And if they find out those monsters are fictional, they'll find out that _you're_ fictional, too."

"They won't find out," Kiel said, feigning confidence. He partially believed himself, only because he wasn't sure if that would happen. "I'll make sure they don't. And if they destroy the libraries, I'll turn them all into bugs or something." He winked, which always seemed to ease his friend. Owen smiled.

They ventured downstairs, where the lobby was still quite crowded. People were walking up and down the stairs, sticking in close groups. Some were heading down a hallway, where Kiel assumed was where they'd be eating breakfast. He searched the room for Bethany, but it was crowded, and he did not see her. He guessed she was already in her room. Or maybe not, given how many people were still waiting to be assigned rooms.

After informing a hotel worker that they'd be going to the store, the three left the building. The cold air seeped into Kiel's skin, causing goosebumps to form on his arms. He'd gotten used to having a coat with him when he went outside. He shivered, his face stinging from the cold. Hopefully this store would have a pair of shoes he could get, although he really preferred his black boots.

This whole situation was inconvenient. If he could go back to Bethany and Owen's town, he could put a stop to all of this. Not to mention, he could also fight the monsters if he was there. He was pretty sure he could handle them by himself, as long as he had enough energy. But he wasn't going to complain about it, even if he really wished that he could go back to the town.

They crossed the street quickly, setting off at a light jog. Once they finally made it to the store's entrance and shuffled inside, Kiel's entire body felt numb. He shook out his arms and legs, trying to jostle the warmth back into them as he looked around the store. It was brightly lit, with ten checkout counters at the front and a several hallways, which led to different sections of the store.

"Clothing section's this way," Ms. Conners said, pointing at a sign on the wall. Still shivering, Kiel and Owen hurried after her as she walked over to the clothing section. Maybe it was because he'd never seen this on Magisteria, but Kiel was surprised. He'd never seen so many different types of clothes in one area. Shirts of all sizes and colors were piled on tables and hanging on racks, practically overflowing.

He'd been to a few stores before with Bethany and Owen, but never one like _this_. Kiel was used to wearing one or two outfits, which were both black. Everything here was so colorful, looking like nothing he'd ever worn before. There were so many clothes, too. Almost too many to choose from!

Kiel moved his head around, looking for any black shirts nearby, but Ms. Conners' voice cut through his thoughts. "If you need me, I'll be over at the women's section. Come find me when you're done!"

She walked away, and Owen nudged him in the side. "Let's start looking. We can get something for you first." He started walking through the isle closest to them, looking through the shirts. "What size are you?"

Kiel chuckled. "Size?" He ran his hand along a long-sleeved green shirt, which had a symbol of a star on it.

Owen shook his head. "Never-mind. Um . . ." He turned back towards Kiel, meeting his eyes. "See anything you like?"

Kiel knit his brows, then shook his head. He hadn't seen anything that looked remotely black, so no. "I haven't. Does this place have _anything_ black?"

Owen started to say something, only for his eyes to widen at something behind Kiel, and he ran over to it. "Wait . . . I think I see something!" Kiel's hope lifted, but once he caught up with Owen, he sighed. It was a black shirt . . . but it was several sizes too small.

"Guess we'll have to find you something in a different color," Owen said, stifling a yawn.

Kiel tried to push away his slight disappointment. In all honesty, as long as he didn't have to wear anything _too_ bright, he would be fine. Maybe there'd be a light shade of gray? Or a very dark purple? Or even dark blue would work, despite the fact that he hardly ever wore that color. "Ah, it'll be fine. I look much better in black, but I'll have to work with it. I'll be okay if I don't wear black for a few days."

"Maybe this is a good thing," Owen said, prompting Kiel to raise his eyebrows. "Before you say _anything_ , hear me out. Just in case the military discover that the monsters are fictional, it's better that you look as different from your real self as possible. Wearing black will make you look _more_ like Kiel Gnomenfoot, and we don't want people to know that."

"But I _am_ Kiel Gnomenfoot!" Kiel said loudly, earning a strange look from a woman walking nearby. He winked at her. "Oh. Hello, ma'am! We're just —" He cut himself off, quickly looking at Owen. He was the one with the best imagination, after all, and Kiel wasn't sure how he could make up a believable excuse on a whim.

"Practicing a . . . script! We're trying out for the _Kiel Gnomenfoot: Magic Thief_ play at our school." Owen offered, cringing. He forced a smile at her. His statement sounded more like a question, but if the woman noticed, she didn't say anything. Instead, she continued walking at a quicker pace, looking very confused.

Kiel quickly lowered his voice, looking back at Owen. "Okay, but I don't see why I _can't_ wear black. I just don't understand how that has anything to do with anyone finding out who I am. I've worn it all my life. No one suspected anything at school, and I wore black there."

"Yeah, but this is different," Owen said, glancing around. "We're actually in trouble now. _Real_ world trouble."

"Relax, Owen," Kiel said, although he knew just how serious the situation was. He patted his friend's shoulder. "Trust me, it's going to be okay. I know how to hide my identity. If it makes you feel better, I'll wear a different color. They won't suspect a thing." Then, he added, "Not that I have much of a choice, anyway."

Owen smiled, his shoulders relaxing. " _Thank_ you. Don't worry, though. I'm sure you'll get to wear black again soon enough, at least once we know for sure that no one knows you or the monsters are fictional."

"Sure," Kiel said, shrugging with a smile of his own. It wasn't much of an inconvenience, anyway. It was disappointing, sure, but it wasn't worth worrying over. As long as he blended in more, the people here wouldn't suspect a thing. As he scanned the area around them for something that looked appealing, a fantastic idea slowly formed in his head. He grinned. "Hey, I've got an idea. A really good one, actually."

"What is it?" Owen asked, not looking at him as he searched through a rack of clothes.

"I'm still kind of pretending to be German, so maybe we could find something . . . I don't know, German? That could help me blend in better too, since these guys are trying to get rid of fictionals like me."

Owen dropped his hand, stepping away from the rack. "Yeah, okay. But I'm not sure if there'd be anything in here that's German. Is there?" A thoughtful look appeared on his face.

"Maybe not," Kiel said. Just as he said that, he spotted a man in a red uniform walking past the men's section. "Hey, we should ask that guy over there. He looks like he works here." He flashed a wink at Owen and started towards the man, who looked over at them as they approached. "Do you have anything German?"

Owen coughed. "What my friend means is: do you have any _clothes_ that might look German? Specifically, like, a shirt?"

"Wow, I never get asked _that_. As a matter of fact, we do!" the man said, giving them a large grin. "Follow me." He led them to the other end of the men's section, where piles — some neat and some messy — of clothes were on top of tables. The man started shuffling through one of the messier piles. "We only have a few clothes that have designs based on different countries, but no ones been buying them."

"That's perfect!" Kiel said, as the man retrieved a few shirts and handed it to him.

"Do you kids need anything else?" the man asked, straightening up as he finished rearranging the rest of the shirts back into their pile.

"Nope," Owen said, smiling. "Thank you, though. We're just looking for some new clothes."

"Wait . . ." The man looked them up and down, seeming to notice for the first time that they were both wearing pajamas. His eyes widened. "You're — you're from that hotel across the street, aren't you? Your whole town was evacuated there."

Owen's smile faded, and he exchanged a look with Kiel. "Um, yeah. We _are_ from that town. But how do you know about that?"

"It's been all over the News," the man said, his friendly facade crumbling as he stared at them more worriedly. "Something about these . . . monsters appearing out of nowhere and attacking people. Believe me, it's hard for _everyone_ to believe. Everyone who's up this early, anyway."

"Did the News say anything else?" Owen asked. "Anything about where they're coming from . . . or if it's happening anywhere else in the world?"

The man shook his head. "No, no. It's only happening in your town. All they're talking about is the destruction and the attacks, but no one knows where the monsters have come from. I can't believe that monsters are real. _Actually_ real. I mean, who would've thought they were? I've only seen them in movies."

 _This isn't good_ , Kiel thought. "Well!" he said, clearing his throat. "It certainly has been a crazy day, as you can probably imagine. We're just going to get the rest of our clothes and head back to the hotel."

"Yeah, we should get back," Owen added, looking nervous. "We're both really tired, and my mom will be worried if we're gone too long."

They started to back away. The man only looked confused, but he nodded in understanding. "Of course, go get some rest. I'm sure you need it."

"Yep, we do," Owen said, forcing a smile. Luckily, the man seemed to take a hint, and walked away from them, disappearing around the corner.

" _That_ was close," Kiel breathed. A grin grew on his face as he realized that their secret was still hidden. "Good news, no one knows about them being fictional! Which means they will never know about _me_ being fictional!"

"They still might find out," Owen whispered.

"They haven't yet," Kiel reminded him. "And I don't think they will. No one suspects anything, anyway!"

"There's still a chance that they could! I mean, I _hope_ not, but with the way our luck is turning out lately . . ."

"I'm sure they won't," Kiel said in his most reassuring tone. "They're nonfictional, after all. What's harm could _they_ do to a bunch of monsters twice their size?"

Owen grinned. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Kiel only winked, then looked down at the clothes in his hands. There were three shirts in total, so he gave two of them for Owen to hold as he unfolded the other one, holding it up for both of them to see. "That's definitely German."

"What does it say?" Owen asked, peering at it. "I don't know any German."

Kiel stared at the unfamiliar word at the center of the shirt, which was bright red. On the numerous occasions he'd attempted to study German words, he'd picked up on a lot from the language. But although he recognized it as German, he had no idea what this word meant.

After a minute of trying to analyze what it meant, Kiel shook his head. "I really don't know. I'm sure I've heard of it from _somewhere,_ but I've got no idea what it means." He glanced at Owen. "Should I get it?"

Owen nodded encouragingly. "Sure. Whatever it means, it definitely _sounds_ cool. ' _Scheisse_ '."

"It does," Kiel agreed. "Alright, I'll get it." He took the other clothes from Owen, placing them back onto the table. "We should get some new clothes for you, now."

"Don't you want more than one shirt?"

He frowned. "Should I get more than one?"

"Of course!" Owen said. "We have no idea how long we'll be here. It doesn't hurt to have some options." With that, he walked down the aisle, grabbing a few shirts and holding them up beside Kiel. Apparently deciding that they'd fit, Owen declared that they'd get those clothes, too. Not that Kiel was very happy about it, since they weren't black. But he'd have to work with it.

Once they were done picking out Kiel's new attire, they moved onto Owen, spending the next fifteen minutes grabbing an assortment of shirts and pants that looked like it'd fit him. As it turned out, they finished much quicker than Owen's mother, who'd been searching for some new clothes for herself. They stayed there for an hour more, waiting impatiently for Ms. Conners to finish. When she finally was, they bought their items and went back to the hotel.

"Too bad Bethany missed out on this," Kiel said, voicing his thoughts aloud as they carried their bags up to their shared room. "We should've gotten her something. She's probably going to need some clothes, too."

"That's very nice of you to think of her," Ms. Conners said, giving him a knowing smile that felt strangely similar to the looks Elijah used to give Kiel when he talked about Bethany. "I'm sure her mother will take her soon. Trust me, it'd be a disaster if you tried to get her something. You should _never_ buy a girl any clothes."

Owen frowned. " _Never_? But . . . why not?"

"First of all, you're fifteen year-old boys. Do you think Bethany would like any random shirt that you get her?"

"I . . . maybe?"

"Sure she would!" Kiel said.

"The answer is no," Ms. Conners said with a small laugh. They continued walking down the long hallway, which had a few other people walking down it. Right before they got to their specific room, someone opened the door next to theirs. Someone recognizable. It was then that Kiel realized — it was the girl from his chemistry class.

"Kiel, du hier bist!" the girl with short brown hair exclaimed, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "Hallo. Du bist mein Nachbar!"

 _Her again?_ Kiel thought, rolling his eyes. Of all the people to be next door to them, it _had_ to be the girl who spoke fluent German.

"Hallo," he responded, not knowing what else to say.

"Was passiert?" the girl asked.

As if he'd been cast with a forget spell, all knowledge of German words seemed to slip from his mind. So Kiel did the only thing he could do: he winked. Next to him, Owen awkwardly waved. "Uh, hello. Who exactly are you?"

"I'm Louis," the girl said in a completely American-sounding accent, surprising Kiel further. She didn't even have a German accent! He'd never even heard her speak English before. Or maybe he had, but he never payed much attention in Chemistry class — or in school, for that matter — so he wasn't sure.

"I'm Owen."

"Nice to meet you. I'm in Kiel's chemistry class! Are you from Kiel's German exchange family?"

"What exchange family —" Ms. Conners started to ask, but Owen quickly cut in, forcing a smile.

"We are! I'm guessing that you're German, too?"

"No." Louis smiled. "I'm just in a very advanced German class. I've been speaking fluently since I was in sixth grade."

"That's interesting," Owen said, which made Kiel want to roll his eyes again. He didn't often get annoyed, and he didn't roll his eyes very often, either, so this would give him a great reason to.

"We'd better get to our room," Kiel said in a fake German accent, and out of the corner of his eye, he could tell that Owen was trying not to laugh.

"Oh, okay. Bis bald!"

"Bis bald!" Kiel replied with a wink, forcing a broad grin. As Louis walked away, he told the others, "That meant 'see you later'."

"I hope that you have some explanation for what just happened," Ms. Conners said, looking immensely confused.

"It's better if you don't know," Kiel muttered. He glanced over at Owen, who was quietly laughing. Kiel glared at him. "We aren't telling Bethany about this."

"Trust me, we definitely are," Owen said, a grin on his face. Kiel sighed. It looked like he still would have to pretend to be German. He might as well put that shirt to good use, now that he had it.

They stopped in front of their door, and Ms. Conners pushed it open. After greeting Owen's pets, Kiel dropped the bags he was holding to the floor, feeling more tired than he wanted to admit. Even though he'd been awake for hours, he hadn't gotten much sleep. Once again, he felt exactly the same as he had a few days ago, when he'd been taking 5-Hour Energy just to stay awake.

"I'm going to head down for breakfast," Ms. Conners informed them. "If you want to come, just make sure you take care of Spike and Bark Vadar first. I need to get some coffee."

"Okay! I'll be there soon!" Owen said, sitting on the bed as he scratched Spike on his belly. They watched as she walked out the door, closing it behind her. Owen looked at Kiel. "Want to get breakfast?"

Kiel yawned. "I would love to, but actually, I think I'm going to stay here for a little. I need to catch up on sleep."

"Me too," Owen murmured. He removed Spike from his lap, tossing the cat towards the floor, who landed right on his feet. He stood up. "Okay, I'll be back soon. I'll see if I can find Bethany, then. She's probably at breakfast." With that, he got to his feet and walked out of the room, leaving Kiel alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Bethany, as Owen soon realized, was not at breakfast. Neither was her mother.

After waiting in the buffet line for what felt like an eternity, Owen carried a plate of pancakes around the dining hall, looking for a place to sit. It was a huge room, almost as big as the school cafeteria back home. The dining hall was still beginning to fill up, and the families were already starting to sit down at random tables. He searched the room for Bethany or his mother, but for some reason, he couldn't see them anywhere. Maybe his mother had already eaten without him.

He considered one table with some boys his age, but they ignored him as he walked over, so he continued walking, pretending like he knew where he was going. He didn't, of course. There were so many strangers here, and although he recognized some of them from the library, he couldn't exactly sit with them. Many of them looked stressed or scared anyway, and Owen didn't know if he wanted to talk about the fictional monsters again. He'd rather take his mind off of that for now.

He found an empty table to sit at, then plopped down and starting eating. He felt a feeling of familiarity by being all alone at breakfast. It was similar to when he was at school, before he became friends with Bethany. Sitting by himself wasn't exactly new. Over the years, he'd become adjusted to it. He had passed the time by reading a book, but inwardly, he'd always wished that someone would've sat with him.

It was easy to get lost in fantasies of the fictional world, but once he tuned back into the real world, Owen would realize once again that he had no friends. Not ones that cared to hang out with him outside of school, at least. Remembering that time made him more grateful for his friends now. If he hadn't met Bethany on that fateful day, none of that would've changed. Becoming her best friend meant that he had someone to sit with, and that in itself had been life-changing for him.

He wondered if he should've followed Kiel's example by getting some rest. Normally, Owen never woke up as early as three in the morning to start his day. He was exhausted, and would definitely benefit from a few extra hours of sleep. Everyone was just as tired as he was after what had happened. Despite how tired he was, though, he doubted he'd be able to get any sleep at all if he tried. Not after the crazy day he had.

As he ate, Owen kept looking over his shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of Bethany's bronze hair. He guessed that she was in her room or something, because he didn't see her anywhere. Oh well. It wasn't like this hotel would be impossible to navigate around. It was huge, but Owen felt hopeful that he'd see Bethany again soon. Of all the things to look forward to, that was all he got.

He was pretty relieved to hear what the store employee had said. It was good news that this attack was only happening in one spot. And they hadn't found out anything yet about them being fictional, which was a relief too. But it was hard for Owen to feel optimistic about that, when there was still the possibility that they _would_ find out. And when they did, he'd be too late to stop them.

He was farther away from home than he'd ever been before, and that made him worried. If something worse happened . . . no, he couldn't think like that. Kiel was right. Owen couldn't keep overanalyzing this. Not when the military hadn't discovered anything about the monsters being fictional. So far, they were fine.

He just wished that they'd had time to put the creatures back into their books. Bethany was right; it _would've_ taken forever to do. There was also the problem with the fictional characters still jumping out of their books, but if that hadn't been the case, the town would've been saved. Between Owen and his friends, they could round up all of the fictional characters and put them back into books. That would've solved everything!

Owen trusted the police and the military. Here in the real world, they solved problems. They weren't like the versions in the movies or in books, where there were too many cliches. They'd never fought monsters before, but they had the right equipment to do it. They had guns and other weapons that Owen had probably never heard of. If anyone could handle this situation, it was them.

There were dozens of them who could fight back better than Bethany could using only her half-fictional powers. Kiel had his magic, and although he was incredible at spell-casting, he always tended to get tired quickly when in the nonfictional world. And Owen . . . well, he only had his time powers, and he had no clue how that would help anyone.

Given that there was no one to talk to, Owen finished eating quickly. He stood up from the table and hurried across the room, adding his empty plate to the pile of dirty dishes next to the kitchen. He glanced around the room, taking in how crowded it was. People were continuously walking inside, and the room only seemed to grow more packed as the morning went on.

Not wanting to get stuck in the crowd, Owen squeezed past a group of men at the entrance and navigated through the people-filled lobby, which was somehow just as crowded as it had been an hour ago. Why were there so many people still here? He craned his head to look out the window, and he saw why. There were three more buses parked outside — just like the one he'd come from — and people were emerging from them.

Owen could hardly believe what he was seeing. He'd been here for an hour at the least, and people from his town were still being transported here! _That_ was why it was starting to feel crowded. He hoped this hotel would be big enough to fit everyone. As far as he could tell, there were ten floors, which meant there'd be plenty of rooms for everyone to stay in. That should be enough to hold everyone, but if people kept crowding around the lobby, Owen wasn't sure if he'd even make it to the stairs.

Since the stairs had too many people blocking them, Owen pushed through the large group, making his way over to the elevators in the corner of the room. He mumbled apologizes as he squeezed past people, who glared at him, not seeming too happy about being pushed. Finally, he broke out of the crowd and arrived at the elevators, which were currently empty since the group was busy listening to the same man from earlier, who was informing them about their situation.

Owen hit the elevator button, and he looked back to the crowd, observing their reactions. All of them looked confused and scared, and a few even looked angry as the man continued talking. Owen felt sorry for them. As shocking as it had been for him, Bethany, and Kiel for this to happen, it was nothing compared to what the other people were feeling.

The people here had spent their whole lives living in a boring world where nothing unusual happened, only for something _very_ unusual to happen. Owen knew exactly how they must've felt. Before he met Bethany, his whole life had been as predictable as everyone else's. The real world didn't have magic or anything very exciting. All it had was school and chores, along with the thousands of other normal, boring things it had. The only thing that had allowed Owen an escape from it was his imagination.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slowly slid open. Owen stepped through and hit the button that would lead him to the second floor. He shrunk back into the elevator, placing his hand on the rail and allowing the doors to close shut.

With the sounds from the lobby blocked out, Owen noticed for the first time that there was a small screen next to the buttons. On the screen was a woman holding a microphone, who was standing in front of a destroyed street. There were debris everywhere, and Owen could barely make out a few dragons flying around in the sky.

He gasped as the realization struck him. This was his _hometown_.

He recognized the street as somewhere he'd driven tons of times with his mother, since they used to come there often. Behind the woman was a row of stores, which looked slightly less damaged than the buildings with books in them. He recognized one of the stores as the Napoleon Bakery. Owen had been going there since he was little. It was hard to look at his town and remember that it was completely abandoned and destroyed. He'd grown up there, and seeing it now brought back so many fond memories.

"I'm here to report that all residents of the town have been evacuated to a safer, temporary place for them to live," the woman was saying, her microphone held close to her face. "In the meantime, the town is off-limits to everyone except the military and police, who have swarmed the area early this morning. They have started to try getting rid of these terrifying monsters, and as far as we know, this could take a matter of days or weeks, or maybe even months. We all have many questions about what's been going on, like, what are these monsters doing here? How did they get here? And what do they want from us?"

"Excuse me?" a voice asked, but Owen shook it off, assuming it was coming from the TV.

"Look out!" a voice from behind the camera said, and the camera suddenly crashed to the ground, showing a view of two huge, clawed feet. Owen gasped, trying to peer closer at it to get a better look. There were screams, followed by a few gunshots in the distance. He watched as the creature continued walking, it's huge feet inflicting loud tremors in the ground, causing the camera to shake violently.

"Excuse me, is this your floor?" a voice asked, and it took Owen a moment to realize that it wasn't coming from the screen. He glanced up to see a middle-aged woman, and quickly backed away from the screen.

"Oh. I'm sorry! Um, yeah, it is," Owen said, blushing hard. He'd gotten so distracted that he hadn't even noticed the doors opening. As the woman walked onto the elevator, he scrambled off of it, his heart pounding. His hands started shaking, so he slid his good arm underneath his broken one, attempting to support it.

Things weren't looking too good back home. It seemed even worse now that it was daytime. The events of this morning had felt like a dream, but this only confirmed that it was real. There was no imagining it. Monsters were all over the place, wrecking houses and buildings and even hurting people. And the only thing that Owen could do was sit back and hope that the authorities would handle this, just like they always did. With their fighting skills, they'd fix this problem in no time.

. . . Right?

* * *

It'd been four days, and Bethany was already sick of this place.

First, she'd been assigned to the ninth floor, which meant that she was not only separated from her friends, but the elevator was always crowded with people by the time she got to it. Second, no one was allowed to leave. Aside from going to the store across the street, everyone was forced to stay inside the hotel. According to a hotel worker, they were for safety reasons. But Bethany could care less about safety. Not when there were much bigger problems that she could be dealing with.

Being here made Bethany feel trapped, and it wasn't helping that every time she checked the News, the military was still struggling to fight against the fictional monsters. She couldn't tell how much progress they'd made. All she knew was that she _needed_ to get out of here soon. It didn't feel right to be here when she should be out there, putting the characters back into their books. She was the only one who could do it. She couldn't take another week of being cooped up inside this hotel, where it was too crowded for her liking.

Early on Friday morning, Bethany awoke to the sound of rain pounding against the window. Despite the fact that it was morning, it was still a bit dark out, due to the gray clouds that covered the sky. Blinking slowly, she threw a glance at the alarm clock on her bedside table, which read 7:30 am.

Normally, she never woke up this early unless it was for school. But this wasn't normal, and Bethany often found herself waking up early, because she felt too anxious and restless while being here. How could she sleep in with fictional monsters roaming around? It was practically impossible, and it definitely didn't help that she didn't have any books nearby.

One way or another, she was going to get to the bottom of this. She was determined to. Neither her or her friends understood why this fictional invasion had happened in the first place. She'd had four days to think about it, and unfortunately, no solutions had come to mind.

Most of all, Bethany hated that she was forced to stay here, forced to follow the rules and watch her town crumble. There had to be _something_ she could do to put a stop to this, but whatever it was, she didn't know. She was unable to leave, unable to jump into books, and unable to fix anything. It wasn't a very good feeling.

Tossing onto her side, Bethany stared out the window for a few minutes, watching the rain drip down the glass. She tried to focus on that instead of her worries, keeping her eyes only on the rain. Her stomach rumbled, and she sighed deeply, flinging the covers off of her and sliding out of bed. In the bed next to her's, she could make out the sleeping form on her mother.

After telling her mother about what she'd been hiding, Bethany knew that she'd lost a lot of her mother's trust. For years, she'd been keeping secrets from her mother, only to expose all of them merely four days ago. Like a bird being set free from it's cage, it had felt good to get them out. Bethany was officially done was secrets. They'd given her so much guilt, and she was relieved that she didn't have to keep them anymore.

But now, her mother had grown more overprotective and irritable than before, checking to make sure that Bethany wasn't going to jump into any books every time she left the room. As things cooled down, she'd grown calmer when Bethany was around, and was able to converse with her in a normal tone. Bethany knew that she should've expected this reaction from her mother. It was understandable, especially after the fictional invasion. If it weren't for the entire town being locked in a hotel, she would've probably been just as grounded as Owen was — if not more.

Pulling her hair into a ponytail, she threw on a sweatshirt and sweatpants, not feeling the desire to do much of anything. The only thing she wanted to do was get out of here and find a book to jump into, and unfortunately, that wasn't an option. Bethany pulled on a pair of sneakers — ones that she had bought on her first day here — and opened the door, shutting it as quietly as she could behind her.

Wiping the sleep from her eyes, Bethany walked to the elevators, which were empty for once. She jammed her finger into the button that would lead her to the first floor, hoping that maybe some breakfast would energize her. The floor dropped beneath her, quickly pulling the elevator downwards. Right before she reached the bottom, the elevator opened, and she looked up to see Kiel standing in the hallway.

"You're up early," she said, raising her eyebrows.

Smiling, Kiel went to stand beside her in the elevator. He was wearing a bright red shirt, which had a word printed in white that she didn't recognize. It looked like it could be in a different language, but she was too tired to properly analyze it.

In a tired voice, Kiel explained, "I tried going back to sleep, but I couldn't, so I decided to get some breakfast."

"Good choice," Bethany said, smiling back. "Honestly, the only thing I like about this place is the food. That's the _only_ thing."

"Not the incredible people?" Kiel asked in a joking tone.

Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, she didn't respond as the elevator shuddered to a stop, and the doors slid open. They walked out into the lobby, where hotel workers and a few older people were walking around. The rain seemed to be even louder down here, and it was all Bethany could hear for a moment.

As they crossed the room on their way to the dining hall, the sound of the door opening made Bethany's head turn. Automatically, her eyes landed on the man entering the lobby, who seemed to be soaking wet. Her feet suddenly stopped working, and she stopped in her tracks. It wasn't just any random person. It was _Mason Black_.

"Beth?" she heard Kiel ask, but she wasn't focused on him. She hurried over to the author, who looked exhausted and worn out. Mason's eyes landed on her, and he grabbed her arm urgently.

"Bethany," Mason said, stumbling a bit. "Something happened. Something bad."

"What?" Bethany asked, her ears ringing loudly. She stared at the man, her heart rate increasing. What was wrong? Had something worse happened? Why was Mason here, looking like he'd just run ten miles through the rain?

"The chains you used to lock up Nobody," he said, his eyebrows knitted with worry and regret. "They . . . failed."

"What?" Bethany repeated, feeling suddenly faint. Her world began to spin, and she took a step away from him, letting his hand fall to his side. The other noises around her seemed to fade away as her mind swirled like the chaos of a tornado. " _No_. No! I locked him up. Everything's fine now. There must be a mistake."

He shook his head weakly. "There _was_ no mistake. Nobody has gotten too powerful. He rewrote himself to be immune from the chains, and now he _has_ escaped."

As bad as things seemed before, this was twenty miles beyond that. It was like a dozen of bricks had fallen on top of her. He had _escaped_? There was _no_ way. There couldn't be! It was impossible, wasn't it? This had to be a joke!

Bethany wanted to scream, but instead, she concentrated on breathing in and out, desperate for someone, anyone to tell her that everything would be okay, that this was all a lie. But deep down, she knew it wasn't a lie. She _had_ locked Nobody up, hadn't she? She had seen him fail to fight against the chains with her own eyes! How had he managed to escape?

"That can't be possible," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "You _have_ to be lying. You have to be."

"I'm not," Mason croaked. He slumped into a chair that was next to the door, looking exhausted. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do now. He's too powerful."

"No!" she shouted, her breathing becoming less steady. She felt her body heating up as anger filled her from head to toe. She felt much too hot, all of the sudden, as if her entire body was on fire. Rage filled her, as she thought of the faceless man — alive — who'd caused so much harm to her, her family, and her friends. "That can't be true! You're lying! You're _lying_!"

"I'm sorry, Bethany." The man sighed. "But it's true. It's why your town was overcome by fictional characters. It's because of _him_."

Suddenly, everything made sense. All this time, she'd thought that the fictional monsters escaping their books had been a random occurrence. She hadn't stopped to think that it could be linked to Nobody. But fictional characters had never managed to escape from their books before. It _couldn't_ just be a random coincidence. It made sense now, because when Nobody had escaped from captivity, he likely would've been angry at Bethany and Owen, and wanted to have revenge.

Maybe it was an accident or maybe it wasn't, but his escape from the chains must've caused this whole fictional invasion to happen. That meant it _was_ her fault, after all. She'd caused this. There was nothing left to do now except go back to the fictional world and put a stop to this. With Nobody still alive, he would destroy the fictional worlds. Bethany would have to defeat him, for good this time. And she would.

She set her jaw. "There has to be another way. Isn't there? Aren't there any other weaknesses you know —"

"I don't." Mason sighed heavily. "I'm sorry. You'll have to find another way to stop him."

Bethany could only stand there, shocked into silence. What other way could she stop him? She couldn't think of one. She'd never planned for this to happen, and it felt like her nightmares were becoming real all over again. Only this time, it was worse. She opened her mouth, trying to form an answer, but Kiel grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to the side. "Bethany, are you alright? Who is that? What's wrong?"

"You know how I locked Nobody up with those chains? Yeah, um . . . he escaped."

Kiel's eyebrows shot up. "He did? But — but _how_?"

She only shook her head, still shaking from anger. She clenched her fists, trying to ignore the tightness in her chest. "I don't really know. But we have to tell Owen. We need to get out of here and go back to the library."

He frowned. "I thought the military said that your town is off-limits to everyone."

Bethany looked at the ground, her mind running in circles. "They _did_ say that. But we don't exactly have any books with us. The only place that I know we can go to is the library. And we have to go _now_ , before it's too late."

"This can wait, you know," Kiel said, but Bethany could see him practically dancing from foot to foot, anxious to finally get on with it. "We don't have to go over there just yet."

"We can't wait. He's too dangerous. The longer he's roaming around the fictional world — doing who know's what — the more damage he can do. Come on, we gotta get going." She threw a glance at Mason Black, who was still slumped over in the chair, then started to walk away. Kiel grabbed her again, gently fitting his hand into her's. She turned back to him, an unexpected shiver going through her.

"Just relax for a minute, Beth," Kiel said in a gentle voice. "Don't worry. We'll figure out our plan for how we're going to escape this place, and then I _promise_ we'll beat him."

Bethany nodded, offering him a strained smile. She squeezed his hand, and a warm sensation pulsed through her arm, all the way up her body.

"I still don't get why you didn't tell me or Owen about this Mason Black guy. And then you went off on your own quest to chain Nobody up," Kiel said, stepping closer to her with a frown. "Why hide it? Why not tell me? You even hid it from Owen, until he caught you on your way there."

Bethany sighed, dropping his hand. She couldn't look him in the eye. "You wouldn't have agreed with me. You would've said I was being stupid for believing him about Nobody. And then . . . when I went to lock up Nobody with the chains, I couldn't tell you about it because you only would've gotten hurt. I thought doing that would change things, but I was wrong."

"Yeah, you were wrong," Kiel said. "I would've agreed with you if you had told me. Sure, I'd still be a little annoyed that you kept something like that from me, but I would've gone with you. You know that."

"I know," she said, looking back at him. "That's what I was afraid you'd say."

He gave her a confused look, tilting his head slightly. "What? Why?"

She let out a short laugh. "You're Kiel Gnomenfoot, remember? You wouldn't even question it if came to you putting yourself in danger."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"No." Bethany shook her head. "It's not bad to be selfless. But I don't want you _or_ Owen to get hurt because of me."

"Beth, you can't control whether we get hurt or not. I'm your friend, and so is Owen. We're in this together. This is too big to handle on your own. Besides, I've been itching for a good fight. This Nobody guy has been _really_ getting on my nerves, and it's been a little boring around here."

She smiled slightly at his words, then tilted her head towards the ground. "It's just that . . . this whole thing was my fault. I needed to fix it by myself, you know? I became too reckless. I know I should've stopped jumping into books, but then I found my dad, and nothing else mattered besides that. I just wish that I'd been more careful. Maybe if I was, Nobody wouldn't have separated me. I went a little crazy when you went back to your world."

Her eyes widened at the last thing she'd said — about her going crazy when Kiel was back in the fictional world. Was that true? She figured that the only reason she was feeling that way was because she had vowed to never jump into the fictional world again. Of course, there was also the fact that Kiel had been gone.

During those few months, she was so, _so_ tempted to jump into his book, just to see him, to hug him, to talk to him without Owen hovering around. But she had made a promise to herself, and it was to give up on the fictional world. The fictional world had only brought her peril, and after Fowen tried drowning her, well, that was that. She was completely done endangering herself and her friends. Bethany was glad that she'd made the decision to go to Jupiter City. If she hadn't, she would never have found her father.

"I went a little crazy, too," Kiel admitted quietly, surprising Bethany. She wasn't used to him being so open about his feelings. He cleared his throat, flashing her a wink. "But all of that is behind us. We have a world that needs saving, and we have your father to find. Defeating Nobody should be easy if we get enough people to help us."

Nerves ran through Bethany's body. Her heart pounded harder the more she thought about facing Nobody for the final time. "But what if we _can't_ defeat him? What if this is all just too big for us? What if he's too powerful?"

"We're gonna figure it out," Kiel said. He smiled at her. "I didn't come all this way to rejoin your two halves for nothing."

She didn't know what to say to that, so she only nodded, her throat suddenly tight. Hoping she wasn't about to start crying, she threw a glance back at the author of the _Doc Twilight_ comics. He was still sitting in the chair, his eyes closed as he leaned his head against the wall. Clearly, it'd taken him a while to get here. Bethany didn't know how any of this had happened, but she did know that they would need to go back to the fictional world, one way or another.

Not bothering to wait for Owen to wake up, Bethany and Kiel went to his room as fast as they could, knocking loudly on his door until he answered it. The sound of barking hit Bethany's ears, and she smiled in spite of herself as she heard groaning from the other side of the door.

"Owen!" Bethany shouted, pounding her fist against the door. "Open up! It's me and Kiel, and we have something _really_ important to tell you!"

"I think he's awake now," Kiel whispered, then added in a louder voice, "Owen, can you open the door?"

"Getting it!" a voice from the other side grumbled, and they both stepped back as the door swung open, revealing a grumpy-looking Owen with very messy, bedridden hair. He stared up at them with half-lidded eyes, a frown on his face. "What was so important that you couldn't wait to tell me?"

Bethany sighed. "This is going to sound crazy, but you have to believe me anyway. Mason Black showed up, and he said that Nobody has escaped from the chains we put him in. Nobody's _alive,_ Owen. That's why all of this is happening, with the monsters escaping from their books. It makes so much sense now! But now, Nobody's free, and he's going to keep destroying the fictional worlds with his pure possibility, or whatever that was called. This is _really_ bad. We need to come up with some type of plan and get out of here right away. As soon as possible, if we can."

She stared at Owen and waited impatiently for him to respond. Instead, of a panicked reaction that he'd normally give in this type of situation, he blinked slowly, his frown deepening slightly. Finally, he seemed to somewhat understand what she'd said, and rubbed his eyes. "Oh, no. Okay. _Wow_. This is horrible, but can we please talk about this later? I'm hungry, and I'm pretty sure I'm too tired to interpret anything you just said. What's for breakfast?"

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Bethany, Owen, and Kiel were sitting together in the dining hall, eating food as they started to go over their plan. They were all considerably more awake than before, so Bethany went over everything that Mason Black has told her, not leaving a single thing out.

"So?" Bethany said, looking at Owen as she placed her hands on the table. "Got any ideas?"

Her friend looked puzzled. "Why are you asking _me_?"

"Because you always have ideas with that huge imagination of yours, and we can't just sit here and do nothing while Nobody is free," she told him.

"Don't make fun of my imagination," Owen said, although he didn't look too confident as he said it. "My mom says it's a gift."

"It is," Kiel said from next to Bethany as he ate an apple, which made Owen smile.

" _Also_ , you always make up the most genius, villain-proof plans," Bethany said, trying to grab Owen's attention again. Once he looked at her, she leaned back in her chair. "So, can you think of anything?"

Owen looked thoughtful, biting his lip as he looked around the room. "Well, I think we definitely need to find an easy way out of here — without getting caught by any of the hotel workers. They're everywhere, so we'd have to navigate around them somehow. That'll be hard. And . . . I'm not sure if trying to escape is the best option, either. I'm still grounded, and now that my mom knows everything, she'll —"

"We can't worry about that," Bethany interrupted. "We just won't tell our moms about it, and by the time they find out we're gone, we'll already be in the fictional world."

Owen sighed. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I feel really bad about running away _again_. Not that I ran away before, but, you know. She'll think that I'm never coming back."

"She won't think that," Kiel said. "I'm sure that neither of your moms will. Besides, it's for a good cause! They can't keep you here."

"I guess not . . ."

"He's right, Owen," Bethany insisted. "And this quest is more important than probably anything any of us have ever done. We have to go, and we can't worry about the consequences of our actions. Yeah, my mom will be furious when she realizes I'm gone, but I'd rather deal with that _after_ we get back."

Their table went silent for a few long seconds, and Bethany stared at Owen, waiting expectantly for him to agree. He really wasn't going to back down from this, was he? She didn't think so. She knew Owen better than anyone, and she also knew that he'd want nothing more than to save the fictional world.

Suddenly, Owen's eyes lit up, and a small smile came to his face. "Actually, I _do_ have an idea. What if we searched around? You know, to see if there's any books that we can find?"

"Are you serious?" Bethany deadpanned. "Right. You are." She sighed. "I've looked everywhere in this place for books, but I haven't seen _any_. I'm pretty sure the hotel doesn't have any."

"You never know," Kiel said. "Maybe you weren't looking hard enough. Or maybe one of the people from your town has one. We should ask someone."

Now that she thought about it, it _did_ sound like a good idea. It would be convenient, too, since then they wouldn't need to try finding a way to escape the hotel. If someone here owned a book, they could easily get to the fictional world that way.

Feeling a bit hopeful, Bethany stood from her chair. "I'll be right back," she told Owen and Kiel, then made her way around the tables, towards the first one that was occupied.

"Excuse me, sir?" Gathering her courage, she stepped in front of a middle-aged man, who was drinking coffee. "Do you happen to have any books?"

The man looked up at her with a confused expression. He shook his head. "Sorry, I don't."

Forcing a smile, Bethany turned around and walked to the next table, where a group of older women were. She clasped her hands in front of her and cleared her throat, hoping that these women would have something useful. "Hi, sorry to interrupt. Do you have any books?"

"No," one of the women said, after glancing at her friends. "Sorry."

"It's fine," she muttered, trying not to lose her patience. She went to the next table, and then the next, then the next. To her great frustration, none of the people here — not _one —_ had a book that she could borrow. Well, _that_ was just great. How was that possible? Didn't anyone read these days? Did _anyone_ here own a book?

"Hey, what's wrong?" Kiel asked, his concerned tone irritating her even further as she stomped back to their table.

"Did you find any books?" Owen asked.

Bethany glared at them, unable to keep the annoyance out of her voice. She waved her empty hands at them. "Does it _look_ like I found any?"

"Well, no—"

"Are you kidding me?" She groaned, slamming her hands on the table. A few people glanced her way, giving her alarmed looks, but she ignored them. She collapsed into the chair. "There's not a single book in this place? No one thought to _grab_ one? No one thought they'd want something to read?"

"Not when they were running for their lives!" Owen said, which made her roll her eyes. "So this just means that we don't have another choice. We don't have any books to jump into, so we have to get to my mom's library." In a quieter voice, he added, "I just hope it's not destroyed."

"It won't be," Bethany said. "And even if it _is_ destroyed, the books will probably still be there."

"True," Owen muttered, not looking too hopeful about the idea.

"Enough thinking!" Kiel said, a gleam appearing in his eyes. "Let's sneak our way out of here and get going! I can cast some spells that'll distract them, and we can sneak past them while their preoccupied with that." He grinned. "Sometimes it's good to just take action."

"We need to have a plan, though!" Owen said. "Our town is filled with the military, not to mention tons of fictional monsters. We could get caught easily, and then we'd _never_ get to the library."

"So we use magic, then."

"Only for emergencies," Bethany said, crossing her arms as she leaned forward. "Owen's right. We have to be careful. And it'd probably be better to leave once it's dark out, so we can blend in. But if we find a way to get there — maybe by car — I think we can get into town without anyone noticing."

"By car?" Owen repeated, dumbfounded. "Who would drive us? We took a bus here, and I didn't see any cars in the parking lot. And if there were, _my_ mom wouldn't drive us, and neither would yours!"

"I've driven a police car before," Kiel said.

"Wait, _what_? You have?" Bethany asked, her eyebrows shooting up.

"In Doyle's book. It's kind of a long story. You weren't there," Owen whispered to her. "How about Mason Black?"

"I don't think he drove here," she said, feeling like they were running out of ideas. "He seemed pretty exhausted when he got here, almost as if he ran the whole way here. I didn't see any cars in the driveway, either."

"Okay," Kiel said. "So all we have to do is sneak our way out of the building and find some way to get back to town. Shouldn't be _that_ hard."

"Yeah." Bethany huffed, mulling over his words. The idea sounded good enough, but she just didn't know how they'd sneak out of the building. It was risky. There was also the factor that they needed to find a way to get to town, and she didn't see any cars or buses laying around. If they managed to get to town, they'd also have to sneak around the military and police, along with the fictional monsters that were definitely still roaming around.

It wasn't going to be easy, but Bethany knew that they had to get back to the fictional world as soon as possible. One way or another, Nobody was going to destroy the fictional world with his pure possibility, and he'd rewrite it the way he wanted. She couldn't let that happen, especially when her friends lives were at stake, along with the other thousands of fictional worlds out there.

Most importantly, her _father_ was still there. If Nobody finished what he started, she'd never see her father again. If that happened, she would be devastated. She would've fought for nothing, and Nobody would've won. She was determined to put a stop to Nobody's plan, before it was too late. It wasn't a choice.

Someone cleared their throat from behind them, and all three of them turned around in surprise to see none other than Liz, looking shocked.

Bethany cringed, her stomach twisting itself into a knot. "Hi, Liz."

Owen's eyes widened. "H-How much did you hear?"

"Just enough to know that you're running away," the girl said, crossing her arms. She stared at Bethany with a hurt, maybe even betrayed, expression. "And something about going back to town, where all of those monsters are. Why would you _do_ that? That's so dangerous!"

Bethany exchanged a look with her friends, swallowing hard. They only stared back at her with a cautious expression, waiting for her to say something. If Liz had heard everything they had said, then there was no point in lying about it. Bethany had never wanted to tell her the truth, since she wanted to keep her powers a secret for as long as she could. But at that moment, she knew that she didn't have a choice. She couldn't just pretend it never happened.

She took a deep breath. "Let's go somewhere private. It's . . . kind of a long story."

* * *

 _"_ _And with the black banners raised as the crooked smiles fade. Former heroes who quit too late . . ."_


	26. Back To The Fictional World

**_Undercover (by Fenech-Soler)_**

 _"_ _Do you wanna take back that summer? Wanna go undercover? Wanna break out this fever? Wanna make you decide . . ."_

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Liz said, pacing around the room. "You have powers. The power to jump into books. You've been jumping into books for years, looking for your dad, and when you were twelve, you and Owen started going on these adventures into books. Then you got in _tons_ of danger, and a villain called Nobody _split you into two halves_ , and now you're rejoined. Oh, and you defeated him a few days ago, but now he's alive again, and that's why all of the monsters have suddenly attacked our town."

The four of them had gone up to Owen's room to talk, since his mother was currently taking Bark Vadar for a walk. Between Owen, Bethany, and Kiel, they'd given Liz the only explanation that they could. Liz had heard too much already, and it was clear that they couldn't just make up a lie. Owen hadn't been sure whether they could even trust her with this information or not, but he knew that they didn't have a choice.

Either way, he didn't know how he could make up a simple lie about something _that_ big. Escaping the hotel to go back to the fictional world to defeat a faceless man that wanted to wipe out the fictional world? Yeah, that would be hard for _anyone_ to lie about! Unless you were an expert liar. Which, Owen wasn't. And since Bethany had been friends with Liz for a while, he figured she could be trusted. Maybe she could even help them escape!

"That pretty much sums it up," Bethany said, glancing at Owen and Kiel. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, her knees brought up to her chest.

Liz stopped pacing, giving her a perplexed expression. "Now, the three of you need to get back to the fictional world to . . . fight him?"

"See, I told you she'd get it!" Kiel said from his spot against the wall.

"Actually —" Owen began, but Bethany cut him off.

"Yep. That's why we have to get back to town," she said in a confident tone. "Tonight, if possible. We don't have another choice. We _have_ to go."

"But . . ." Liz trailed off. "I can still hardly believe any of what you're telling me! But if you're actually going to fight this guy, well, it seems really scary."

Owen nodded. "Yeah, it is. But it's not like we have a choice." He knew exactly what she meant. He was scared to return to the fictional world, but only for the reason of fighting Nobody. Seeing his friends again was what made him partly excited, but he knew that this wasn't going to be a fun mission. Stopping Nobody _would_ be hard. No matter what he tried to tell himself, it would be.

"And you," Liz said, looking at Kiel as if for the first time. She smiled in disbelief. "I can't believe you're not German! This whole time . . . you were actually faking it?"

Kiel winked. "Yep. Beth was the one who figured it out, though. After she found out, she accused me of not being German, and then she also —"

"What?" Owen interrupted, feeling surprised. "When did _that_ happen?"

"Before you got here. It happened in December."

In the almost-two-weeks that he'd been back in the real world, Owen had never heard about Bethany accusing Kiel of not being German. As much as he'd thought he had caught up on, there were apparently still some things that he didn't know about. It bothered him that — once again — he'd missed out on yet another thing. But he was used to the feeling by now. Unfortunately, he'd missed out on plenty of things during his time in _Pick The Plot_. He really wished he hadn't.

"Can we not talk about _that_ specific moment in my life?" Bethany asked, her face turning red.

Kiel only nodded, and he redirected the conversation. "Anyway, yes, I was faking it. I needed to hide my identity somehow, just in case anyone thought I was who I actually am."

"You used your real name though," Liz pointed out with a smile. "You couldn't have used a fake one?"

"Huh. I never thought of that."

"So . . . what are we going to do now?" Liz asked, her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. She stared at Kiel, who went silent.

"'We'?" Bethany repeated, raising her eyebrows.

"Sorry. I mean, _you_."

"I don't know," Owen said, his eyes drifting to the floor. "We were trying to figure out the best way to get out of here, and the only way to get back to town is to drive. Only problem is, I haven't seen any cars in the parking lot, those buses from earlier are gone, and it's not like we can walk there. We need to find _something_ that could drive us."

"A car, probably," Bethany added. "I'm not sure how we could get anyone to drive us, but have you seen any laying around?"

Liz began to shake her head. "Guys, I don't know . . . this is _really_ a terrible idea. What if something bad happens to you? What would I tell your parents?"

"Nothing!" Bethany said quickly. "Either way, we're going to get there somehow. So have you seen anything that we might be able to borrow that'll get us there?"

Liz looked towards the window. "Well, I did see a parking lot somewhere behind the hotel. I don't think it was too far from here. Maybe five minutes?" She shrugged. "There were a bunch of cars there that were just sitting around. But why can't you ask your mom to drive you?"

"It's complicated," Bethany said. "I can't exactly tell her about this."

"That sounds like a good idea!" Kiel spoke up. "This parking lot, wherever it is, should have what we need. We can borrow a car there."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Owen asked, frowning. "I mean, borrowing a _car_? Do you know how illegal that is?" Bethany rolled her eyes, but he ignored her, adding, "I don't know if that's a good move, especially since none of us know how to drive!"

"I do."

"Um, _no._ You don't."

"We'll go there tonight," Bethany decided for them. "Once we're ready." She looked at Liz. "You won't tell my mom, right?"

Liz shook her head. "I don't like this idea, but I won't. I _promise_ I won't."

Bethany smiled, then added, "But we're going to need your help, now that you know everything. This place has so many hotel workers everywhere, and we can't exactly sneak out without anyone noticing. If we can make up a plan, can you try to keep everyone away from the doors?"

Liz nodded, smiling. "I'll try! But what about your trip to our town? Shouldn't I come for that?"

Owen glanced at Bethany, blushing a bit. "I'm sorry, but . . . you're going to stay here."

"Oh. How come?" Liz looked surprised, but Owen could tell that she looked relieved.

"We need someone to make sure we aren't stopped along the way," Bethany explained. "It'll only be a matter of time before people realize that we're gone. Plus, you're safer here."

"Yeah!" Owen added. "All you have to do is help us get out of here! I'm sure my mom will figure out right away that we're gone, but she'd definitely try to stop me if she knew what we were doing."

"But what if more monsters keep jumping out of books?" Liz asked.

"They won't."

"You sure?" Kiel asked, looking uncertain.

Owen thought about the situation back home. Although the fictional creatures were still everywhere, the military had yet to find out where they were coming from, which meant that they weren't jumping out of books anymore. If they were, the military would've seen it. "From what I've seen on the News, they only jumped out of books on the night it happened, and after that they stopped. Now the military are just trying to track down and kill the monsters who got out."

"I could get rid of those monsters _much_ more efficiently than those guys," Kiel said. "With magic, I could do that in seconds."

"And then you'd probably faint or something," Bethany said, a tiny smile on her face.

The boy magician winked.

"I think I have an idea," Liz said, her eyes suddenly lighting up. "Kiel has magic spells, right? Maybe one of those can be used to distract everyone while you leave?"

"That sounds like a good plan," Owen said, feeling hopeful that their plan _could_ work, after all. It wasn't impossible. It would only be tricky to find a way to sneak out of here. Between the four of them, he knew they'd figure this out, and their plan would be successful. Or so he hoped.

Reaching underneath the bed, Kiel grabbed for his spell book. He tried to open the cover, but the book snapped at him. " _Hey_!" He pointed a finger at it. "Bad book! Don't do that again! I know I haven't used you in a while, but could you try to have some manners?" He looked over at Liz, who appeared to be in shock as she stared with a horrified expression at the magical book. "Sorry about that. This is my spell book. It's not _usually_ this grouchy, but whenever this happens I always need to pry the pages open. Kind of annoying when that happens, honestly."

"Could you _please_ concentrate?" Bethany asked him with a sigh. "Just find a spell!"

"Alright!" Kiel responded. "No need to be impatient, book-girl." He looked back at his spell book and cleared his throat. "Give me a spell that'll cause an awesome distraction!"

"No explosions! Or fires!" Owen quickly told the spell book, resisting the urge to reach out and grab it. The last time he'd even used it was when he was back in the seventh Kiel Gnomenfoot book. The spell book had seemed to hate him back then, but the first time Owen had used a spell, he'd felt a warm, comforting feeling wash over him. Almost like drinking hot chocolate on a cold day.

He watched as the monstrously huge spell book flipped open, the pages moving so fast that he could hardly see the words on them. Gradually, the pages slowed, and came to a halt. Owen and Bethany hurried over to stand beside Kiel, and Owen peered at the spell on the page.

"'The Embodiment Of Illusion,'" he read. "For creating illusions." He turned to look at his friends.

"Does that mean it'll create any kind of illusion?" Bethany asked. "Like distracting our parents and making them think we're here, when we're really not?"

"Yeah," Kiel responded. "The spell always works differently every time I've used it, but it should change to fit the situation. All Liz needs to do is cast it right before we leave, so she can make sure that no one is watching us."

"I'm _what_?" Liz whispered, still looking reasonably scared of the spell book as she inched further away from it.

"Wait, Liz is casting it?" Owen's eyes went wide. "But she doesn't _know_ any magic!"

"Neither do you," Kiel reminded him.

"The spells are easy to cast, even if you don't know magic. I cast a location spell to find my dad, so if she uses magic, I don't think it'll be any different," Bethany said, biting her lip. She glanced at Liz. "Do you think you could do it? But — only if you're okay with it."

Given how scared she looked, Owen expected Liz to say no, but she took a shaky breath. "I-I guess I could. I want to help you guys." Tentatively, she stepped closer to them, staring at the spell book with wide eyes. "So how do I use it?"

"All you need to do is put your hands on it. The book will teach you the spell," Kiel said, bringing the spell book over to Liz. He held it out in front of her, and the book began to glow.

"You can learn a spell by reading it, but you can only cast it once without the spell book," Owen explained. "Then you'll have to recast it."

Nervously, Liz slowly placed her hands over the pages. She seemed afraid, but she stayed rooted to the ground as light slowly swept up her arms and into her body. Once the spell was complete, she stepped back, looking somewhat more at ease. "That felt really nice! Now what? I just say the words to the spell?"

Kiel nodded. "Yeah. Once the time is right for it, of course." He glanced at Owen and Bethany, a grin forming on his face. "I'm _so_ ready for a good adventure, and to fight some villains again!"

Owen had to smile at that. Truthfully, he was excited to see his other fictional friends. But that was the only thing he was looking forward to. Adventures in the fictional world could be fun, but missions like these always turned out dangerous. He'd seen that plenty of times, so this trip would be no exception. There were so many ways it could go wrong, and with Owen's luck, _everything_ could easily go wrong. The very idea of facing Nobody for a final time was enough to make him shudder. Things hadn't turned out so good last time. There was no predicting how well this time would go.

"And dragons," Kiel continued, closing his spell book and placing it back underneath the bed. "I _miss_ dragons."

"Dragons sound terrifying," Liz murmured.

"Oh, they're not at all!"

Bethany laughed a little. "Trust me, they are."

"Yeah, they are," Owen said, smiling.

"You'll come around some day," Kiel told them. "If you didn't know, dragons are actually very nice pets!"

"Do _you_ have a dragon as a pet?" Bethany questioned, raising her eyebrows.

". . . No. But I'd _like_ to."

"I would love to have one as a pet," Owen said, only for his smile to fade as he heard footsteps just outside the room. "Oh, my mom might be back any minute. We should start getting ready."

"When's the best time to leave?" Bethany asked, lowering her voice. "Eight? Nine?"

"Eight," Owen confirmed, although he wasn't sure himself when the best time to leave was. "It's better if we leave earlier, while it'll be dark out."

His friends had been right: leaving at night was a better option than leaving during the daytime. But if it were up to Owen, he would've left right now. After hearing the disappointing news that Nobody had escaped from the chains, he knew they couldn't waste more time here. He knew that leaving at night would be the safer choice, though. It'd be easier to sneak out that way.

All of the escapes he read about in books usually happened at night, because it was easier to hide in the dark. That was how each escape attempt in the Kiel Gnomenfoot books went. With Kiel escaping along with them, Owen doubted this would be unsuccessful. This would work. Kiel had done this millions of times, so he wasn't worried about that part.

He was more worried about what his mother would think when she realized he was gone. She'd think he had run away again, which, he technically _was_ doing. He felt terrible that he had to make her worry again; he'd put her through three years of stress. But he didn't have a choice. Saving the fictional world was his greatest priority right now. He couldn't live with himself if he stayed behind for the sake of safety, only for Nobody to win.

The thing was, Owen assumed everything had been under control. He'd placed his trust in the military and the police, hoping they would take care of the fictional creatures that were still out there. Somehow, it'd only gotten worse. He'd assumed that he and his friends were safe, but he was wrong. They weren't safe, not with Nobody still around and the fictional world in danger.

As the others left his room to deal with their own lives and get ready for tonight's adventure, Bethany hung back, her eyes filled with worry, and an intense kind of determination. Sensing that she was about to confess something, Owen braced himself.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It has to be me," she said, her voice unusually quiet.

Owen blinked. Well, he hadn't been expecting her to say _that_. At all. "What?"

"I have to be the one to defeat Nobody," Bethany said, fumbling with her hands. "This is my fault. All of it is. The monsters escaping their books, and now, _Nobody_ escaping captivity. I have to be the one to defeat him, not anyone else. I'm responsible for this. It's better that way, so no one else gets hurt."

Owen's stomach dropped. Why would she say that, especially after what had gone down with Nobody in Jupiter City? For a moment, all he could hear was the pattering of rain on the window. "Are you crazy? _You'll_ only get hurt, Bethany. It doesn't have to be just you who defeats him. It didn't work when it was just the two of us. You know how badly that went, right? I know we can do it if we get all of our friends."

"No, I _know_ that." She sighed, looking somewhat frustrated. "But if there's some way to fix this on my own, that's what I would rather do. I get that me, you, and Kiel are going to the fictional world. I'm not going to try leaving you behind like last time. That was a really bad plan on my part. But I'm just thinking . . . It might make things _worse_ if anyone else is involved."

He frowned. "I'm pretty sure things _are_ as worse as they can get! Having our friends with us will make it a lot easier. Plus, Nobody escaping is _my_ fault, too. Don't act like all of it is your fault. I know exactly how you feel. You can't stop me or Kiel or anyone else from doing this. I'm going. No matter what."

"Yeah, I know," Bethany muttered in recognition. She didn't look very happy about it, but at least she wasn't about to do anything reckless this time.

Suddenly, the door swung open. Both of them froze, only to see Owen's mother in the doorway. She was holding a recently-walked Bark Vadar on a leash, who barked when she saw the two fifteen-year old's in the room. Upon the arrival of Bark Vadar, Spike retreated underneath the bed to hide on top of Kiel's spell book, not looking too pleased that the dog was here.

"Vadie!" Owen yelled, his worries from a second ago vanishing. He grinned as the dog tugged out of Owen's mother's reach, darting over to Owen and Bethany. The two of them kneeled down, laughing as the dog licked both their faces.

"Bethany, what are you doing here?" Owen's mother asked, a surprised smile on her face.

"Oh, nothing much. Just hanging out," she said, sharing a look with Owen. She scratched Bark Vadar's head, and the dog licked her again, which made her smile.

"Well, I saw your mom while I was walking Bark Vadar," his mother said, unhooking Bark Vadar from her leash. "She was wondering where you were."

"She was?" Bethany glanced at the door, then stood up. "Okay. I'll go check on her."

Patting Bark Vadar one final time, she went to the door, saying goodbye to Owen and his mother. As his best friend walked into the hallway and closed the door behind her, a knot formed in Owen's stomach at the thought of what tonight would bring. He felt nervous, and maybe even a little excited. All he could do was wait with growing impatience for that time to come.

Soon enough, he'd be back in the fictional world, and he wouldn't be imagining or dreaming it. He'd be on adventures again, and probably not the most exciting kind. He'd be with his friends. He'd be where he should've been all along. The place that held his greatest fantasies and adventures and fears.

The fictional world.

* * *

By nighttime, it had stopped raining, which allowed a full moon to rise high in the sky. After another night of eating dinner and doing their own activities, things were beginning to die down. The rooms were a bit less crowded than they were during the daytime, although plenty of young adults still hovered around the dining hall and the other hallways. It usually didn't empty out until ten or eleven o'clock, which was when the doors of the hotel were locked.

While his mother was talking with other adults, Owen found his chance to sneak out of her notice and run up to his assigned room. Pushing open the door, he went straight to the chair in the corner of the room, which was where his mother's backpack was sitting.

He didn't have a lot of time — maybe thirty minutes — before they would leave. He felt his heart racing as he unzipped the backpack, tossing out his mother's things and throwing in a few bottles of water, along with an extra pair of clothes just in case.

Once Owen was finished packing, he threw the straps over his shoulders and stood up, feeling shaky. A strange feeling hung in the air, one that told him he may never come back here again. He glanced around the room, and his gaze lingered on Spike and Bark Vadar, who stared back at him expectantly.

It saddened him that he had to leave. The weeks he'd spent here, simply enjoying himself while he hung out with Bethany and Kiel, had been wonderful. Hopefully if this all worked out, he could go back to doing that again. He missed going on adventures that were actually fun. He preferred that over getting into dangerous situations.

He took a deep breath, walking over to his pets and individually petting them for what hopefully wouldn't be the last time. This was it. He couldn't turn back now. He was going on the greatest, possible most dangerous, adventure of his life. And he didn't have enough faith in himself to imagine this turning out well for him, but he believed in his friends.

He had to believe that they would defeat Nobody. It didn't hurt to have some optimism, despite how badly everything had gone last time him and Bethany had faced him. This time, he'd be ready. He _was_ ready.

Maybe this time, he'd finally be useful instead of the sidekick that he always thought of himself as. He didn't want to ruin things even more, which was something he always tended to do. Time and time again, he'd missed things up. First with what happened with the Magister, then with Fowen, then with Nobody. He was tired of doing that.

For once, he wanted to be the hero that everyone looked up to. He wanted to be just like Kiel, who always knew who to do. All his life, he'd dreamed of being one. Maybe his time powers would prove to be helpful, and he would save the fictional world, along with his own world. With his friends by his side, they'd be an unstoppable team.

With this in mind, Owen forced himself to walk out of the room, away from the safe, comfortable life that he'd grown used to. He was scared of what might come in the future, but he also couldn't brush away the small bubble of excitement in his chest, which was growing as he imagined being on an adventure with his friends again. There was no backing away from it now. Using the elevator, he hit the button that would lead him to Bethany's room and made his way over.

He reassured himself that their plan would work, that this adventure would be fun instead of scary, and it'd be everything he'd ever dreamed of. He knew the second part most likely wouldn't be true, but it didn't hurt to have some hope.

Surely, this would go better than last time. It had to, because the fictional world would die without his help. And if the fictional world died . . . he couldn't even _imagine_ it. He loved books too much to ever let the fictional world fade away, and nothing — not even his fear — was going to stop that.

He knocked on the door, and Kiel opened it. Behind him, Bethany and Liz were sitting on the floor, in the middle of a conversation. They fell silent as Owen poked his head inside. "Everybody ready?"

"Yes?" Liz said, looking slightly pained.

Bethany rose from her seat on the floor. "I am. We were just going over our plan. But . . . if my mom finds out about all this, we're going to get into so much trouble."

"Same thing with my mom," Owen said, trying to block out the guilt he was already feeling by running off again. It wasn't like he had a choice, though. He couldn't just sit in this building for weeks and do nothing.

"I'm ready!" Kiel announced, and Owen looked over to see that the boy magician was once again wearing his normal attire, aside from his shirt, which was the same German one he'd gotten on the first day they came here. Out of all of them, he looked the most excited.

Bethany took a deep breath. Unlike Owen, she wasn't wearing a backpack. The one she owned was back at her house, where the fictional monsters were likely still hovering around. "Let's get going. Liz should cast the spell once we're downstairs, right?"

"Yeah," Kiel replied. "Right after she casts the spell, we'll be able to get out the door without anyone noticing. There's no way this can go wrong! We have a solid plan, so nothing bad will happen. I have a really good feeling about this."

"Great," Owen said, mustering a smile, although he really would've loved to have one of Kiel's pep talks right now. Since Kiel had always been his favorite character, and was now his best friend, his words of motivation never failed to make Owen feel more confident about things.

The four of them left the room and made their way to the lobby, which wasn't too crowded at this time of night. People were walking up and down the hallways, either heading to the back of the hotel or towards the elevators. Hotel workers were behind the front desk, on either sides on the door, and spaced out around the lobby.

"Ready to cast it?" Kiel asked, looking at Liz.

The blonde girl looked nervous, and she kept glancing around the room, as if expecting someone to catch them. "Guys, I don't know if this is really a good idea . . ."

"Trust me, it _is_ a good idea," Bethany prompted. "Come on. All you have to do is say the spell."

Slowly, Liz nodded. "Okay. Here goes nothing." She took a deep breath, then recited the spell. As soon as the spell was cast, a light emerged, covering the entire room until it was ten times brighter than before. As quickly as the light had come, it went away. After that, there was nothing.

Owen frowned. "Was something supposed to happen?"

"Just wait," Kiel said, and a second later, thunder roared so loud that Owen nearly jumped out of his skin. Everyone gasped. Some distance away, at the back of the hotel, various loud crashing noises were heard. This got everyone's attention, and they began to head to the direction of the sound.

Bethany grabbed Owen's and Kiel's hands, yanking them over to the door and pushing it open. "Thank you, Liz!" she shouted, and they raced off into the dark night. The three of them took off at a run towards the back of the hotel, headed in the direction that Liz had seen a parking lot in.

As he ran, Owen quickly threw a glance back at the hotel, a sinking feeling in his stomach. Here he was, leaving his life behind to go on a crazy adventure. Soon enough, his mother would know he was gone. He'd never live it down.

The thought quickly flew from his mind as they got to the back of the building, running past an empty garbage bin before cutting through a line of trees. With how dark it was, Owen nearly tripped several times over tree roots and ditches. Panting, he pushed a branch out of his face and broke out of the trees, arriving right behind his friends.

To Owen's joy, they were now standing in a parking lot. He couldn't tell how many cars were there, but he could guess that there were maybe ten. They were all turned off, some looking a bit older than others. Now that they found cars, what next?

"Do you know how to hot-wire a car?" Owen asked his friends, unsure what any other option would be. After all, none of these cars were currently on. Without keys, they couldn't even get it started.

Bethany snorted. "Of course I don't! You watch too many movies."

"That sounds fun," Kiel said, smiling at them. "What's 'hot-wire' exactly? I've heard Charm talk a lot about wires, but never about hot-wiring them."

"Never-mind," Owen said, biting his lip. "Um, maybe we should just look around? Maybe there's a car that's still on." He kept his tone hopeful, but he wasn't very optimistic about that. None of the cars looked like they were on, but at least it'd give them something to do while they thought of a plan.

They split up, each taking separate rows of cars to observe. As Owen peered in each dark car, he heard Kiel make exclamations every now and then, but they weren't about anything too important. Clearly, none of them had thought this through. He'd hoped that the cars would be accessible, which they were, but he'd wrongfully assumed they'd be turned on! Why didn't he think of that?

"Guys!" Bethany called, after a few minutes of them searching. "There are car keys in here."

Owen looked over at her, a disbelieving smile on his face. She was peering into the window of an old-looking car, which looked like it'd been through a few accidents. He couldn't believe their luck. "Really?"

"Yeah," she said, stepping away. Owen and Kiel ran over, observing the car.

"Can we really take it?" Owen asked. "What if it doesn't work anymore? It looks like it belongs in an antique shop."

"There's only one way to find out," Kiel said, walking around to the side of the car. He looked excited. "Come on! Get in."

Owen's eyes widened. " _Kiel's_ driving? No way! Remember how badly that went last time? In the police car?" He sighed when the boy magician only grinned. "Right. You don't, because you were having fun."

"You can sit in the back," Bethany told him. "And no one will catch us. Everyone's in the hotel."

Kiel grinned. "Yeah. Think of it as an adventure! Sit back and enjoy the ride, and think of it like you're reading a Kiel Gnomenfoot book!"

"That's _so_ reassuring," Owen said sarcastically, looking over her shoulder to make sure nobody was about to stop them. By that, not _Nobody_. Well, no one.

Kiel opened the front door and slid into the seat. Owen piled into the backseat, hastily buckling his seatbelt. Bethany climbed into the passenger side and shut the door, buckling her's as well.

"You never told me you could drive," Bethany said, smiling a little.

"I don't," Kiel said, then pulled the car into drive and slammed on the gas. Everyone held their breath as they fell back into their seats, holding onto the nearest handle. They drove around the other cars sitting in the parking lot and flew past the gate, making it to the road. Kiel quickly turned the wheel, and they all fell to the right as they made a sharp turn onto the road.

"Last time I drove with you, it felt very similar to this! We're definitely going to die!" Owen told Kiel through gritted teeth. This was probably the _worst_ way possible to avoid getting caught. And it was an easy way to get killed! They were all being reckless, but did they have much of a choice? Not anymore.

"Hey, can you be more positive?" Kiel asked, turning around to look back at him. "Out of everyone here, I'm the only one who's driven a car before, which makes me the most experienced. So can you be more supportive? Because all I'm hearing is Kiel this and Kiel tha—"

"Kiel!" Bethany suddenly gasped. At the same time Owen shouted, "Kiel, you aren't wearing your seatbelt!"

Kiel whipped around just as Bethany grabbed the wheel and turned it to the right. The car had started to drift into the other lane, which was filled with oncoming traffic. Owen felt sick at the thought of what could've happened.

"You have to stay in between the two lines!" Bethany scolded.

"I'm trying!" Kiel shouted, his hands jerking the wheel back and forth. The car swiveled in and out of the lane, almost causing a collision with other cars. The car swerved to the right, taking out a mailbox and causing the mirror on Bethany's side to shatter. The impact sent Owen crashing against the back seat, banging the side of his head.

"Kiel!" he said angrily. Kiel only winked in response. The car started to drift into the other lane again, right in the path of a truck. Bethany put her hand on top of Kiel's, forcibly jerking the wheel to the right. Kiel brushed her off and turned the wheel a little too hard, sending them momentarily crashing onto the sidewalk.

"Turn left!" Owen screamed, barely able to breathe anymore. Kiel did as he said, narrowly hitting a car but managing to get back into the lane without injuring anyone. Owen held onto the car handle, panic resonating in his body. "Okay, that's it. We're switching places. _I'm_ driving."

"No, you're not!" Bethany shouted, turning to look at him. "That's an even worse idea than Kiel driving. You've never driven before, and you have a broken arm!"

"So he's the better option?" Owen shouted back.

"Better than you would be!"

Kiel accidentally swerved again to the left, and this time both Owen and Bethany yelled his name. He quickly straightened the car out. "This is fun, right?"

"No!" Owen yelled. "Kiel, pull over! We're stopping right now."

"No we aren't!" Bethany shouted, shaking her head. "We need to get to town, and we don't have much time. This is the _only_ way to get there."

"We should've taken a bus," Owen said, feeling sick and afraid all at once. He couldn't stop shaking. "Or we should've walked."

"We don't have money. And walking would've taken too long. Remember the drive here? It was an hour."

"An hour?" he cried. Panic bubbled in his chest, and he almost felt like he'd have another panic attack. He couldn't stay in this car for an hour. Not with Kiel driving like a maniac! "Okay, no way. _No way._ I'm not doing this."

"Stop freaking out. Everything's fine!" Kiel said, but even he sounded nervous. The wheel darted back and forth in his hands, but he seemed to have gotten a better handle on things. Then, they heard a weird noise, and the car started to vibrate intensely. "Uh oh . . ."

" _Uh oh?_ " Bethany repeated. "What do you mean 'uh oh'? What could be worse than what we're dealing with already?" Then Kiel pointed at something, and she whispered, "Oh, no. Oh _no_."

"What?" Owen demanded, leaning forward to see. He couldn't tell what they were looking at. "What's going on?"

"We're low on gas," Bethany explained, glancing out the window. "We're _really_ low on gas. Our car could break down, and we'll be stuck on this road forever! That _can't_ happen. We have to get to town! We have to get to the library!"

"It's okay," Kiel said, giving her a reassuring smile. "We'll make it. We have enough time to get us there."

"We need to get gas right now," Owen declared. "But where?"

As if on cue, he saw a sign for a gas station on a billboard. "Look!" He pointed to it, and everyone turned to look. "The sign says there's a 7-Eleven at the next exit. That's only twenty minutes away. Think we can make it by then?"

"If we drive fast," Kiel said, then grinned and jammed his foot on the gas. The car sped up, and everyone was once again breathless. They almost got into a few more collisions, but Kiel managed to avoid each one, cracking a joke to lighten the mood. No one took their eyes off the road until they spotted the 7-Eleven in the distance, gleaming brightly in the dark. The gas station was completely deserted except for a single person who was working at the cash register inside.

Kiel took a hard turn and slammed on the brakes, causing Owen and Bethany to gasp and fall forward. They almost crashed into a parked car but Kiel quickly jerked the wheel to the left, turning their car around and pulling it into park. Everyone was breathing heavily.

"I hope you know that I'm really not enjoying myself!" Owen said as he opened the car door. He was still shaking, and there was a knot in his stomach. He wanted to yell at Kiel for putting him through such a traumatic experience, but he knew his friend had already been yelled at many times tonight, so Owen kept his mouth shut. He hopped out of the car, followed by the other two.

"Do you guys have any money?" Bethany asked, glancing nervously at the cashier inside the store.

Kiel shook his head. Owen dug through his pockets, but he didn't have any either.

"I don't even know what I'd do if I _had_ money," Bethany muttered. "My mom always uses her credit card when she gets gas."

"So does my mom," Owen said. "I don't even know how to get gas. I never thought I'd need to know until, you know, I actually learn how to drive when I'm sixteen, like the rest of the population!" He shot daggers at Kiel and Bethany, who gave him guilty smiles.

"Sorry," Kiel said, winking at him.

"Anyway . . . I think we need to find some other option," Bethany said, turning to Kiel. "Kiel, can you use a spell?"

Kiel nodded, taking his wand-knives from their sheathes. "I can distract him! Or I can use a forget spell. Whichever is more fun."

"Maybe you should make him fill up our gas for us. And pay for it too." The three of them grinned mischievously at Bethany's statement, and Kiel winked. "And _then_ I'll use a forget spell. Nice thinking, Beth."

Owen could've sworn he saw her blush, but the thought quickly escaped his mind as they watched Kiel walk into the store. There was some shouting and commotion, but a minute later the cashier walked out of the store with a dazed look on his face. He took a credit card out of his wallet and put it into the slot, then clicked a button and took out the gas pump. He put the gas pump into the car, and the three watched as the gallon count slowly rose up. A minute later, there was a clicking noise, and the man returned the gas pump to it's holster.

"Very helpful of you," Kiel said, giving the man a wink. Owen couldn't help but giggle.

"Sure. Happy to be of service," the man replied in a monotone voice. Then he blinked, and the cloud left his eyes. He shook his head, clearly confused. "Wait, did you kids just hypnotize me and make me pay for your gas? This is against the law! You have to pay for gas! I'm calling the police _right now_ —"

Kiel quickly mumbled something, and the man stopped talking, the dazed look returning to his eyes. He blinked a few times, then smiled. "Huh. I'm not sure why I walked over here. Can I help you kids?"

"No, thank you," Owen said, grinning at him.

"Yeah," Bethany added, suppressing a smile. "We just got gas."

"Oh, okay." The man peered into the car, but Owen blocked him from getting any closer. The man frowned, but said goodbye and walked back inside.

"Ha!" Kiel nudged Owen in the side, looking a bit more tired than before due to his spell-casting. "Impressive, huh?"

Bethany lightly swatted him on the arm, then got back into the passenger side. "Let's get going. If we're lucky we'll make it to town before the driving curfew."

"When is that?" Kiel asked.

"I think eleven . . . or twelve. Maybe ten? I'm not sure. But since none of us are legal to drive, we need to be careful. If we get pulled over by a cop, they'll send us to the police station. Or even worse: they'll call our parents." Bethany shuddered. "My mom would _not_ be happy."

"Mine wouldn't either," Owen admitted, climbing into the backseat again. "So _please_ try not to kill us, okay Kiel?"

Kiel smiled. "Have I ever let you down?"

"Well, yes—"

The boy magician sighed, then got into the drivers seat and turned the car back on. "No? Exactly. Everyone ready?"

The three of them clicked their seatbelts into place, then held their breath again as Kiel zoomed out of the gas station at a fast pace, the tires squeaking loudly. Owen kept his hand gripped over the door handle, his knuckles turning white.

"I'm pulling up the directions on my phone," Bethany said, glancing down at the GPS on her phone. "It says you need to turn right on Walnut street."

"Walnut street?" Kiel repeated, looking around. "I don't even see—"

"Now!" she commanded, and Kiel made a fast, sharp turn onto a road. Everyone hit their heads and groaned, Kiel included.

"Not. Having. Fun," Owen said in between panicked breaths, rubbing his throbbing head. He was half-expecting his life to start flashing before his eyes.

"We'll be there soon," Kiel said without turning around. "Just close your eyes! Imagine you're reading a nice book!"

"I can't imagine it when it's clearly happening right now!"

"Okay," Bethany said, staring down at her phone. "The next turn is in five miles, so we have a ways to go."

"How long until we get there?" Owen asked, fidgeting nervously in his seat.

"It says twenty-six minutes, but who knows how long this'll take with the way Kiel's driving!"

"You're right," Owen said with a nod, trying not to notice Kiel's jerky movements. "I still vote that I should drive."

"I think we should let Kiel drive," Bethany said. "He's getting the hang of it."

"She's right!" Kiel said. "I haven't crashed into a single thing for ten minutes."

Owen laughed, then shrieked as Kiel suddenly jerked the wheel to the right, almost sending them flying into a nearby tree. At the last second he rightened the car, readjusting it back in between the two lines.

Bethany frowned, both hands clinging to the door handle. "I think my life is flashing before my eyes."

"How is it?" Kiel asked.

There was a slight pause before she replied. "Exciting."

"Mine too. Though I have to admit . . . it got way more interesting when I met you and Owen, you know?"

In the midst of the danger, Bethany grinned. "You have no idea."

* * *

The first thing Bethany noticed was the faint buzz of helicopters in the sky, which flew in circles around a particular area. That particular area, she soon confirmed, was her town. _Her_ town. How could somewhere as average and boring as her town have turned into something like _this_? It was almost unbelievable, despite everything she'd heard on the News.

The rest of the ride had been rough, but somehow, they'd made it to their town without getting into a car crash. All things considered, Bethany had _expected_ a car crash. She was very glad they were at least in one piece, because Kiel clearly had no experience driving.

If Bethany's mother were here, she'd receive a lecture on the dangers of underaged driving. For once, Bethany would've agreed to something like that. Kiel _was_ a very dangerous driver, but surprisingly, they hadn't crashed into anything. That was a good sign, because crashing into something would've meant involving the police, and Bethany couldn't take it if they got into more trouble. They'd never get to the fictional world if that happened.

Bethany could tell they were close when she heard noises that sounded suspiciously like monsters, and she felt a chill go up her spine. The car's headlights did little to help them see, so she rolled down the window, squinting through the darkness for any sign of a monster.

"See anything?" Owen called from the backseat.

Bethany shook her head. "Not yet."

She didn't like feeling this vulnerable. Since she didn't have any books with her, she wouldn't have a way to get rid of the monsters if they decided to attack. She had to hope that the military would take care of them, because she didn't have the time or patience right now to track all of them down. They were on a mission, and they'd have to deal with this problem _after_ they got back.

If they ever got back.

A loud roar, much closer than the others, echoed across the road. Bethany flinched, and she looked over to see a gigantic bear — probably the size of a house — emerge from the trees along the road. With a small gasp, Kiel quickly swerved to the side, and Bethany held back a scream as her head banged into the side of the car. The tires rolled onto the grass, and Kiel turned the wheel to the opposite side, forming a wide circle around the bear before slamming his foot on the gas pedal.

"Stop _doing_ that!" Owen shouted. Neither of them had time to reply, because the bear roared again behind them. Bethany stuck her head out the window and watched as the bear began to charge after them.

"Kiel!" she shouted, ducking her head back inside. " _Drive_!"

"I am!" Kiel said.

"Drive faster!"

Giving her a wink, the boy magician pressed his foot harder on the gas pedal, and Bethany watched as the car sped up. Behind them, the bear was still running after their car, easily gaining speed due to it's large size.

Narrowing his eyes, Kiel swerved in-between the two lanes, which was definitely not allowed. But since the road was empty aside from the bear, Bethany doubted the rules mattered. With each swerve, the bear seemed to grow more confused, and eventually slowed down, clearly not motivated enough to chase down their car.

"That was close," Bethany whispered to no one in particular, her heart racing out of control. No wonder the military had been taken so long to get rid of them. Most of these monsters were _huge_. She leaned her head against the headrest, brushing the long strands of hair out of her face.

After another minute of driving, they came across a street with many damaged buildings on it. Bethany felt her heart sink at the sight of it. She recognized it instantly. She'd driven past here dozens of times, but never had it looked so terrible. She noticed that the streets themselves were also damaged, with some spots indented from the different monsters that had walked on it.

Hopefully when this was all over, she could ask Kiel to use magic to fix this. With the way it looked now, she doubted that living here would even be an option.

Parked in the road ahead was a military vehicle, Bethany noticed. That couldn't be good. Her eyes widened, and she quickly tapped Kiel's shoulder. "Quick. Turn right."

"Right?" Kiel frowned. "That isn't the direction of the library."

"I know, but we can't get caught by these guys," Bethany said. "We'll have to try going around them."

Kiel did as she said, and turned into the next street at a faster speed than she or Owen would've liked. With the help of the directions on her phone, they were able to make their way towards the direction of the library, which Bethany hoped wouldn't be destroyed. For the rest of their drive, they nearly had a few encounters with monsters or the military, but they'd managed to avoid them the best they could, always changing their course when they saw one or the other.

After what felt like ages, they finally pulled onto the street where Ms. Conner's library was. As Kiel turned sharply into the parking lot behind the library, all three of them gasped at the sight of it. Unlike so many of the houses here, it was still standing. There wasn't any damage on it as far as Bethany could see.

She looked back at Owen, giving him a wide smile. "It's still here!"

"I can't believe it," her best friend said, shaking his head. He returned the smile, looking much more relieved and happy than he had throughout the whole ride. "It doesn't make any sense!"

"Many things don't make sense," Kiel told them, then slammed his foot on the brakes, which made them all groan as they fell forward. "How do you stop this thing?"

"Use this," Bethany said, although she had no idea what she was talking about. She pointed to the lever next to the wheel, hoping that could work. Kiel placed his hand on the lever and moved it around several times. A clicking sound was heard, and thankfully, the car stopped moving.

Bethany sighed in relief, then pushed open the car door and stepped into the cool air. Her adrenaline was rushing through her, and the shaky feeling that had entered her a few hours ago still hadn't gone away. There was something so exhilarating and thrilling about being in danger. It could be terrifying most of the time, but for some reason, she loved it. She couldn't explain why.

Checking to make sure there weren't any monsters around, Bethany started forward at a brisk pace, prepared for anything. Since the library was still standing, that meant that all the books would still be inside. She hadn't expected that, and in all honestly, it felt like something was finally working out in her favor. That normally _never_ happened. For once, Bethany thought that things might work out. At least for the next few minutes, before they went to jump into books.

"You know Kiel has a crush on you, right?"

" _What_?" Bethany was ripped from her thoughts, and she turned around to see the source of the voice, only to see Owen. She furrowed her brows, remarking, "No he doesn't!"

Owen held his hand up in surrender. "Don't shoot the messenger."

Bethany rolled her eyes as she watched him fight to keep a grin off his face. She didn't have the time right now to think any further about what he'd said, so she added, "Come on! We need to get inside the library before anyone sees us."

"I'm on it!" he said, then broke off into a run to the back of the building, taking out a spare key.

Kiel caught up with Bethany, panting slightly. He was clutching wand-knives in both of his hands, and his cape blew around him. "Hey, what did Owen just say to you? Something about me?"

"Just now?" Bethany waved it off, hoping he couldn't see how much her face was beginning to burn. She coughed. "Nothing. He says ridiculous stuff sometimes."

The boy magician laughed, causing a fluttery sensation in her stomach. "True."

They ran the rest of the way to the back of the library, where Owen was fitting a key into the locked door. Turning the key, a clicking noise was heard, and he hurriedly opened the door. The three of them arrived in a very dark library, which seemed eerily silent. Just like they always had, bookshelves lined the room, which were still filled with the same books as always.

They made their way to the front of the library, and Owen flicked on the lights. The room was lit up instantly, looking no different than the last time Bethany had seen it. The bookshelves, along with the books themselves, were in the same condition as before. It was remarkable that it had survived the fictional invasion.

She felt relief wash over her, to know that at least one part of her town would stay the same. Of all the places to be saved from destruction, she would've preferred the library over her own house. She spent so much of her time here, and so did Owen. Many of her best memories happened here. She wouldn't have been able to take the disappointment on his face if the library was destroyed.

"This is it. We're really going to face him," Owen said quietly, his eyes drifting around the library. "I hope this goes better than last time."

Bethany offered him a smile, though she felt the same way. "It will. It's going to be okay. We're gonna recruit some friends, first, so we'll have help."

That made Owen smile. "We're sticking to my plan this time?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I don't really like the idea, but yours _does_ makes more sense. We do need help. We can't fight this on our own."

"Who are we going to recruit?" he asked, his eyes lighting up.

She rolled her eyes, knowing exactly who he hoped to see. "Don't get your hopes up. I'm just . . . I'm not even sure if they'd want to help."

"If they'd _want_ to help?" Kiel repeated incredulously. "Of course they would. Our world is being turned into pure possibility because of Nobody. Anyone would side against him."

Bethany's phone buzzed in her pocket, jolting everyone. She pulled it out and held it in her hand, clicking on the button. "Who the heck is texting me right now?"

It was her mother. There were three missed calls, and one text message, which read: "Where are you?"

She turned her phone on silent, then placed it on one of the library's tables. At Owen's questioning look, she said, "Our phones don't work very well in the fictional world, anyway. And I can't get distracted right now. I'll text her when we get back. I mean, _if_ we make it back."

"Of course we will!" Kiel said, giving her a strange look. "We're not letting Nobody win this time. That I can guarantee."

A small smile formed on her face at his words, and she glanced around the library, ready to take their plan into action. "Okay. We're going to need a few books. _Doc Twilight, EarthGirl_ . . ." She looked pointedly at Kiel. " _Your_ books."

"What about other books that we can use for getting weapons and stuff?" Owen asked.

"Sure," Bethany said, although she didn't want to spend more time than they needed to. "If you see anything that looks useful, grab it."

With that said, she set off to find the Doc Twilight book first. Since she didn't know the library as well as Owen, it took a bit for her to find it. But luckily, ever since that comic book sale back in December, there were still a couple of Doc Twilight comics left over, which, to her slight disgust, had been laying around with the piles of unused comic books at the back of the library. She was surprised that the library still had a copy, given that it was so old.

Hugging the comic book against her chest, Bethany went over to the tables in the children's section to see what her friends had found. She saw that Kiel was looking through the shelves there, and Owen was sitting at the table, flipping through a book.

 _Kiel Gnomenfoot and the Source of Magic,_ as well as _EarthGirl_ , were on the table. A few other books were, too, such as the first Percy Jackson book, a Harry Potter book, a book about futuristic healing techniques (which she had to admit was a smart idea), a book about medieval weapons, another book about weapons, a sci-fi novel, a cookbook, an Indiana Jones book, and lastly, a Kara Dox book.

"This looks like . . . a lot," Bethany observed. "You know we can't bring all of them, right?"

Owen looked up. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I know. But I was thinking, we could get some books ahead of time that could be useful if we need weapons or food or something. We can jump into the books that have our friends first."

That sounded fair. "Okay," she said, grabbing _Doc_ _Twilight_ and placing it into Owen's backpack. She then grabbed the Kiel Gnomenfoot and Kara Dox books, and put them in there as well. "Just so we can jump into them while we're already in the fictional world," she explained to Owen as he watched her.

Kiel walked over to them, dumping a few more books on the table. "Are we ready to leave?"

"Yeah, I think so," Owen said, after sharing a glance with Bethany. Throwing his backpack on, he stood up, looking a mixture of excited and nervous. She felt the same exact way. She didn't know what exactly to expect this time around, only that it would be dangerous. This would be the biggest quest of her life. She couldn't let Nobody win, and she couldn't let her friends get hurt, either.

She sighed, then picked up _EarthGirl_. Despite the fact that she hadn't wanted to recruit any of their friends in fear of getting others into more danger, she felt her excitement growing. She was going to see her friends again. She was going to see her father again. This was most likely going to be the most dangerous quest of her life, and there was no way of knowing if anything would work out. But hopefully, Owen would be right. Hopefully having a group would be easier than going solo. He was usually right about those kinds of things.

Bethany wished that she could handle this on her own. All her life, that was what she was used to. It was terrifying enough that they about about to face Nobody again, but with their friends? Would they stand a chance? Nobody was more powerful than any villain she'd faced, with the power to rewrite himself into anything. Without hesitation, he'd hurt her friends. He already had hurt Owen, and he'd sent a crazy fictional character called Oliver Bines to get rid of Kiel.

There was only so much she could do to prevent her friends from suffering more than they already had, and sometimes, it felt like she needed to handle it all on her own. If she could, that's what she could do. Most of her actions had led her friends into danger. It was because of her that she'd lost her father. Somehow, she had to prevent that chain of events from happening. Kiel was right: it _was_ impossible to stop it. But it didn't hurt to try. Her friends could _not_ get hurt because of her.

But then again, she'd seen how hurt Owen had looked when she tried leaving him behind before she went to Jupiter City. She remembered the disbelief in Owen and Kiel's eyes when they found out she'd been visiting Doyle behind their back — which had turned out to be a _very_ bad idea. It didn't always work out when she handled things on her own.

Whether she wanted to or not, they'd be recruiting their friends for this. Not that she didn't _want_ to see them, but she didn't want them getting hurt, either. Either way, she didn't have much of a choice. Not after what happened last time. Hopefully things would work out better this time around.

"I'm ready," Bethany muttered, and before she could back out of anything, she opened the book to the last page and placed it on the floor. Owen and Kiel moved to stand beside her. She took each of their hands, and a feeling of familiarity came over her. For the first time in weeks and even years, she felt like herself again.

After what had been years, the three of them were jumping into books together again. Strangely enough, everything felt right in the world.

Bethany jumped them into the book, and the library shifted into the world of Argon VI. Letting go of her friends' hands, she found herself staring at the bright green sun. She breathed in the air, digging her shoes into the planet's rocky surface. Some distance away, she saw a figure dressed in green flying towards them, and she grinned.

"Gwen!"

* * *

 _"_ _Cause with hearts like ours, we've been lost in the dark. Yeah, with hearts like ours, we should be in love . . ."_


	27. The Supervillian

_**Walking On A Dream (by Empire of the Sun)**_

 _"_ _We are always running for the thrill of it, thrill of it. Always pushing up the hill, searching for the thrill of it . . ."_

* * *

"Bethany!" a girl's voice shouted, unmistakably Gwen's. As the figure got closer, Bethany could see that it really _was_ Gwen. In spite of the bad turn of events that her life had recently taken, she was overcome with joy. She hadn't seen Gwen in three years, and it was an enormous relief to finally see her again. Yet another friend that Nobody had taken away from her.

A huge grin on her face, Gwen was flying in the air at a speed that was nearly as fast as lightning, and Bethany barely had time to regain her senses before the other girl barreled into her. She gasped in surprise, quickly digging her heels into the planet's rocky surface before she hugged her back. Bethany closed her eyes, simply enjoying the embrace for a moment before reality came back. Her heart pounded in her chest. She wanted to stay there, hugging Gwen forever to make up for the lost time.

When Gwen was around, Bethany automatically felt more positive. Gwen was the happiest person she knew, and just being around her had helped Bethany improve as a person. It made her feel even better that all of her best friends — Owen, Kiel, and Gwen — were finally in one place. Hopefully, none of Bethany's friends would be separated from her, either. All of them meant so much to her. Out of all of her friends (not including Orion, who she considered a brother), she was closest to them.

"I can't _believe_ you're here!" Gwen exclaimed, pulling away a few seconds later to stare at Bethany. "I _knew_ you'd come back! Wow, I have so many questions. How did you get here? What happened with you turning into light? Did you get taller, or am I just imagining things? You look like you've been busy!"

"It's a really long story," Bethany replied, offering a small grin back. "And I'll tell you the whole thing in a minute, I _promise_. But we're going to need your help with something. Something big."

"We?" Gwen asked, and behind them, Owen cleared his throat.

"Hi," he said, a smile on his face.

"Oh!" She quickly turned around, rushing forward and throwing her arms around both Owen and Kiel. "Owen, Kiel. It's _so_ nice to see you again. I'm sorry, I didn't see you at first!"

"That's okay," Kiel said. He looked a bit confused, which made sense, given the fact that he'd only met Gwen once, and Bethany hadn't been with him then.

"Wait, you've met Kiel before?" Owen asked.

"I have!" Gwen nodded enthusiastically. "We met when we were both captured by Nobody. It happened a couple of years ago." She looked at Kiel. "I see that Bethany's here, so how did your spell work out?"

"It worked out a lot better than I thought it would," Kiel said, scratching his head. "It took me three years to perfect it, but it worked."

Deciding that it was too complicated to explain her, Kiel's, and Owen's entire story to Gwen, Bethany chose to bring up their plan to defeat Nobody. "We're actually here for a different reason. You know Nobody?"

"He's the villain who said he was planning on taking over the worlds," Gwen confirmed, knitting her brow. "Is he still going to do that?"

"Yes, and worse if we don't stop him." Bethany took a deep breath. "Gwen, we need your help. Nobody has gotten way too powerful, and he's going to wipe out your entire world, including all of the others, using something called 'pure possibility'. Then, he's going to rewrite the worlds into whatever he chooses, and it's likely that no one would be coming back from that. Me and Owen tried stopping him a few days ago, but we failed, and now we're going to need a better plan _and_ all of our friends if we want to defeat Nobody. I know this is a lot to take in. It's going to be dangerous, so I completely understand if you don't want to com—"

"Of _course_ I'm coming!" Gwen gave her a perplexed look. "Wow, I had no idea that Nobody was going to do _all_ of that! I only knew that he was going to take over the worlds . . . but I had no idea what to do about that. I didn't think much of it, since I didn't see any signs that my world was being destroyed . . ." She trailed off, stepping forward to briefly squeeze Bethany's hand. "I promise I'll help you, no matter what. You're going to need it."

Bethany felt her heart twinge. She should've expected that response, but somehow, she was still a bit taken aback. When she'd asked Gwen to help her rescue her father back when they were twelve, Gwen had agreed right away, despite the fact that she wouldn't have powers. "But . . . are you sure? You don't have to come. You won't have your powers, you know."

Gwen smiled. "I know. That's what friends are for. And I'll never back down from the chance to help you _and_ my new friends." She smiled at the other boys, who returned it. "This is going to be an adventure! I can't _wait_."

Owen laughed a little. "Trust me, it's not going to be _that_ fun. Defeating Nobody is going to be a lot harder than it looks. He's dangerous."

She patted his shoulder. "Any kind of adventure will be fun, Owen. Now that you mention it, I still have my jetpack from when we were in Jupiter City."

Bethany raised her eyebrows, surprised that she even had it. After all, Gwen never would've needed it when she was in her own world. "Really?"

"Yep," Gwen confirmed. "I haven't used it since I have my powers, but should I bring that?"

"Definitely," Owen said. "You still won't have your powers where we're going, and we'll be going to a _lot_ of places."

Gwen grinned, leaping into the air. "Yay! Don't worry, I won't hold you up. I'll go get my stuff. I'll be quick." Without warning, she zoomed away, back in the direction that Bethany assumed her hideout was.

She turned back to her friends to find both of them smiling. Yep, Gwen definitely had that effect on people.

Before anyone could say anything, Gwen came back at a speed faster than Bethany could interpret, her jetpack over her shoulders. As usual, she looked excited. "I'm ready," she said, doing one final spin to look at her surroundings.

"You're only bringing your jetpack?" Kiel asked.

"I guess so," the girl said, shrugging. "I think that's all I'll need."

"What about some weapons? I bet you have something cool around here." He took his wand-knives out of their sheaths, showing them to her. "These are _my_ weapons, but I'm multitalented. So really, I'll be using anything from magic to my fists." He winked.

Gwen only shook her head. "I don't do the whole violence thing."

"Oh." The boy magician sounded surprised, then smiled. "Right, sorry. I forgot. Well, you'll still be able to help us anyway."

"Yeah, you can," Owen agreed. "Like . . . if we need to get somewhere, you can fly us there!"

"That doesn't work with more than one person," Bethany warned, having a distinct memory of when Gwen had tried flying her and Charm in Jupiter City. She shuddered. It wasn't a very pleasant memory, and they'd almost crashed multiple times. She did _not_ want to relive that again.

"Don't worry about that," Gwen said. "I'm a great flyer!"

Bethany looked first to Kiel, who's wand-knives were tucked inside their sheaths, then to Owen, who's broken arm and wary expression made her nervous, then to Gwen, who had her goggles on and her jet pack ready. Between the four of them, this might not end well if they ran into a fight.

"Owen, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked, then pulled him aside. "Only me and Kiel are the ones who might do well in a fight. But . . . I don't know about you and Gwen."

Owen shook his head. "Gwen will be fine. She's EarthGirl!"

"EarthGirl with no powers. Remember the last time she used a jet pack?" Bethany sneaked a glance at the jet pack on Gwen's back. "She was carrying me and Charm, and it didn't work out very well. Actually, it worked out _horribly_."

"She doesn't need powers," Owen said. "She's amazing all on her own. Plus, she hates violence. We couldn't get her to fight if we tried."

Bethany sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, he had a point. But that still didn't stop her from worrying. "What about _you_?"

He gulped, then glanced down at his cast. "I'm not sure. I have my time powers, though. I promise I'll be helpful somehow."

"You'll only get hurt." She pointed at his cast, which dangled at his side. "Your arm is _broken_! Do you want to feel _worse_?"

"I'm not just going to hide away! I can't just _watch_ you guys while you do the cool stuff."

She groaned. "This _isn't_ cool, Owen. If you try fighting —"

"I'll be okay," he said quietly, forcing a smile at her. "I have my time powers, you have your shapeshifting powers and your training from your dad, Kiel has his magic, and Gwen has her jet pack. We'll all be fine, Bethany. You gotta stop worrying about us. I'm sure we'll be okay, as long as we get the rest of our friends. Now, can we _please_ end this conversation and get on with it?"

Bethany sighed again, but nodded. They walked back over to Kiel and Gwen, who hadn't seemed to hear them, although the boy magician gave them a concerned look. Bethany only shook her head, letting him know that it wasn't important.

For a few long seconds, no one spoke, and simply took the time to stare at the scenery around them. Then, Gwen looked off into the distance, only to suddenly exclaim, "Oh yeah! I just remembered something weird! You said that Nobody was spreading something called pure possibility, right?"

* * *

As Kiel recently discovered, being in Gwen's planet gave him the power to do so much more than he could even with magic. He'd never experienced this before: being able to fly and having super strength all at once without casting a spell first. It was as exhilarating as free-falling off the edge of a cliff. He was very glad to be back on an adventure in the fictional world, where his magic didn't exhaust him and he could truly be himself again.

After everything that had happened in the nonfictional world — from faking his identity to taking 5-Hour-Energy so he wouldn't die — it was a relief to be where he belonged. Although it was for purposes of defeating Nobody, it felt really nice to be back. He no longer had to pretend to be anything he wasn't, and he wouldn't have to worry about the threat of disappearing in the nonfictional world, either.

This adventure would bring a new type of challenge, but Kiel was more than ready to take it on. With his natural talent and the help of his friends, he was nothing but certain that the fictional world would be saved in no time.

The only thing that he was a bit nervous about was fighting Nobody, but Kiel assured himself that it would work out perfectly fine. Nobody would be defeated in no time. He was Kiel Gnomenfoot, so what _couldn't_ he do? He'd been waiting for this adventure for _weeks,_ and now, it was finally here. He was more ready now than he had been weeks ago.

Kiel hadn't been in the fictional world in so long — nearly three entire months — and he was ready to embark on yet another dangerous adventure. After all, danger was exactly what he'd been longing for. He was always having the most fun when he was doing something thrilling, like having a near-death experience. He'd be having fun as long as no one got hurt along the way, of course. If his friends got hurt, all of his joy would be pushed aside.

He planned on enjoying himself as much as possible on this quest, and he planned even more to enjoy punching Nobody in his faceless head. After all Nobody had put Kiel through, he really deserved it. He'd been wanting to do that for ages now, and since the faceless man wanted to destroy the fictional world, it gave Kiel a great reason to.

Despite his slight nervousness to face the villain again, he felt confident about the idea of fighting Nobody. He was more worried about Nobody hurting Bethany and Owen, since he'd split Bethany in half and had thrown Owen into _Pick The Plot_. This time, Kiel hoped that nothing worse would happen. He and his friends were heroes, so they would have to win this time. Losing wasn't an option. He didn't want to worry about what would happen if they didn't win.

The four of them flew through outer space, pushing past the speed limit that any normal person should be able to do. Even Kiel himself would never have been able to do this, no matter how much he tried to. He'd never been able to move this fast before (and while flying, no less!). As they soared through the air, Gwen was in front of them, leading the way towards their destination.

Every so often, she would point to something nearby, giving them an informative explanation about what it was. All of this, as Kiel soon found out, Bethany had already learned about since she'd visited Gwen's world plenty of times. He couldn't believe that Bethany had never mentioned Gwen until recently. Kiel would never have known who Gwen was beforehand if it weren't for them both getting captured by Nobody, and he didn't think that Bethany had ever mentioned Gwen before that.

Even so, he certainly didn't mind the company. He preferred fighting alone over fighting in groups, but he didn't think a few more people would be so bad. According to Owen and Bethany, they were going to recruit some more people to help them fight Nobody. Kiel wasn't exactly sure who they had in mind, but he could only guess that Owen would want to see Charm.

Kiel wasn't _too_ thrilled about the idea of seeing Charm again, only because he might've missed a few scheduled meetups last time he was in Magisteria. He figured she'd be angry about that, but then again, when wasn't she? Their relationship had always been rocky, and it'd taken years before Charm started to actually enjoy Kiel's jokes.

Despite this, Kiel still missed her, and considered her his friend no matter what she thought. He hadn't seen her in years, either, so it would be nice to see her again. He wondered what she was doing now, or if she even knew about Nobody and his plan to destroy the fictional world. Knowing her, she was probably doing something scientific right now, which would confuse Kiel to no end.

"Here it is!" Gwen announced, abruptly coming to a stop to hover in the air.

"Oh no," Owen whispered. During the whole flight, a goofy grin had been on his face due to his newfound powers that he received since he was in Gwen's world. Now, the smile had been wiped from his face, and he stared with wide eyes at something a short distance away.

Frowning, Kiel came to a stop right after Owen, and looked up to see . . . nothingness. His body went cold at the sight of it. A white wall of nothing stretched for thousands of miles in every direction, covering every spot that Kiel could see. Beyond that, there was nothing to see, almost as if the wall had wiped out part of Gwen's world.

Ever so slowly, it seemed to be moving towards them at the pace of a snail, almost like a threatening storm in the distance. Except this wasn't a storm, Kiel realized. It looked exactly the same as Nobody's prison, which had been pure white, with nothingness stretching in every direction. This was much worse, because it was his _pure possibility_. As he watched, a couple of bright stars began to dissipate as the wall touched it, only to disappear into nothingness.

This was what Kiel had heard stories about, what he'd been warned about, and what he'd dreamt about. This was what was slowly wiping out the fictional world. It would eventually wipe out every world, including all of Kiel's friends and Kiel himself if Nobody wasn't stopped before time ran out. It was Nobody's greatest weapon, and it made Kiel afraid.

Mostly, he felt afraid for the safety of his home planet, Magisteria. He had to see it for himself. With Nobody taking control of everything, there was a chance that his world was already deteriorating. Up until now, he'd always been there, going on quests with Charm to save his people and planet from Dr. Verity. He'd never seen the wall of pure possibility before when he was in Magisteria, and he hadn't gone to Quanterium since he was twelve. How was his world now? Was it being wiped out at this very moment? It made him uneasy just to think about that.

"I saw this white wall the other day after I was flying," Gwen said, a small frown on her face. "It's so far away from my planet that I've never even noticed it before. I have no idea what it is, or how it got here." Her voice grew soft. "I heard it swallowed up two entire planets."

"This is it," Bethany whispered as she stared up at the giant wall. She was standing next to Gwen and Owen, looking horrified. "This is his pure possibility."

"It's so much worse than I thought," Owen said. "He's already been doing this, wiping out the fictional worlds!" He shook his head in disbelief, his mouth hanging open. "It's so . . . _big_. We should've been here earlier. We should've come here as soon as I got out of that book."

"It's okay that we waited," Kiel assured him, despite his own belief that they should've gone to the fictional world straight away. But when it came to his friends, along with _his_ own problems about disappearing, he knew that the break had been needed. "We all needed a break. And we wouldn't have been able to come up with a plan that quickly."

"I know, but if I'd realized just _how_ much danger the fictional world was in, I wouldn't have cared about that," Owen said, his eyes only on the wave of pure possibility. "I mean, I knew it was in danger, but seeing it in person is another thing entirely!"

"Is this the pure possibility you were talking about?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah," Bethany breathed. "I've never seen it until now."

"What does it do?"

"I don't really get the science. Not that I really get _any_ science. But Nobody talked like it'd take in the entire fictional universe, and we'd all just become pure possibility," Kiel said, starting to clench and unclench his fists, a habit that he often did whenever he felt nervous or afraid. "Sounds true enough. It looks like the closer it gets, the more it's sucking everything in."

Bethany bit her lip. "We should go. We need to stop this as quickly as possible." Reluctantly, she looked away from the wall, not seeming any happier than the rest of them that it was there. She held Kiel's gaze for a second, and he saw a flicker of determination in her otherwise worried eyes.

"Okay," Owen said as Bethany walked over to him, unzipping the backpack he was carrying and taking out _Doc Twilight_.

"Where are we going?" Gwen asked.

"Jupiter City," Bethany said. "We'll be able to find my dad and Orion there." She sighed. "They're probably worried about me. I've been gone a while."

"Oh, great! I'd love to officially meet your dad! And to see Orion again."

"Orion?" Owen repeated, sharing a confused look with Kiel.

The half-fictional girl grinned. "He's . . . kind of my brother. Not technically, but he lived with me and my dad when I was living in Jupiter City. He fought crime with us. It's about time you've met him. _And_ my dad."

Kiel blinked. He really had missed out on a lot. He didn't remember Bethany ever having a brother, and he'd never met her father before. He'd only been to Jupiter City once, which was when he and nonfictional Bethany were looking for Bethany's fictional self. He hadn't much time to look around or truly experience Jupiter City.

" _Finally_ ," Owen said, exasperated. "I can't wait to meet him! I've waited three years for this." He gave Bethany a look. "And hopefully this time, I'll be able to talk to the superheroes without anyone telling me I can't."

"Hey, don't blame _me_ for that," Bethany said, raising her eyebrows. "We _did_ have a mission to do."

"That didn't mean we couldn't stop to talk to one!" Owen shot back.

"No, we couldn't have. We were in a hurry."

Kiel winked, feeling more excited now that his mind was off of Nobody's possibility wave. "I can't wait, either. Wish I could have been more of a help with that." He grinned. "Finding your dad, I mean."

Bethany rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, throwing a glance at the white wall before looking back at him. "It's okay," she said, a small smile slipping onto her face. "I found him in the end."

With that said, she opened the Doc Twilight comic book to a page at the end and placed it in front of them, where it hovered in the middle of the air. She grabbed Owen's hand. Used to this, Kiel automatically reached for Bethany's other hand, then slid his hand into Gwen's. Bethany looked at each of them in turn. "Ready?"

Owen and Kiel nodded. Gwen grinned. " _So_ ready! Let's go!"

Giving her a smile back, Bethany leapt forward into the air, jumping them all into the book. Kiel grinned as a familiar warm sensation — which he always felt whenever he jumped into a book — trickled through his body. Once he landed on his feet, bright sunlight seared itself into his eyes, and he had to blink several times to adjust to the brightness.

They emerged right in the middle of a sidewalk, making several people jump. It was just as crowded as the last time Kiel had been here, with people sitting on benches, walking along the streets, and driving their cars. What had once been Gwen's world was now replaced by Jupiter City, and now that it was daytime, Kiel could see that this definitely was _not_ an ordinary city.

For starters, this wasn't Quanterium, either. There weren't any guards like the horrible Science Soldiers that Kiel knew from his past. Crowds of people were walking among the streets, all of them looking relatively happy. There was a certain feeling of optimism in the air that Kiel quickly absorbed, and he found himself already smiling.

"This place really changed for the better. It looks incredible!" Gwen happily exclaimed, swinging her arms as she looked around them. "Thanks to Bethany, there aren't shadows anymore!"

" _Or_ the Dark," Owen added, a grin on his own face.

"Hello Jupiter City!" a man's voice boomed from above them. "How are you doing this morning?"

Kiel craned his head up to see a man in a yellow superhero suit flying overhead, waving at the people below. To his approval, he saw that the man had a cape. As people from below cheered and shouted compliments at him, he flashed a bright smile in response. He soared off into the distance, greeting some other superheroes that were also flying overhead a few blocks away.

"Wow," Kiel murmured, feeling impressed as he turned to look at Bethany. "I have a feeling I'm going to like this place."

"Good." She beamed, and he was unable to stop himself from grinning back, a warm feeling erupting in his chest.

"Me too!" Owen said, smiling. Even with the threat of Nobody hanging over them and the threat of the fictional world being destroyed, it seemed that the feeling of optimism was spreading. All of them — even Bethany, who was rarely optimistic — seemed glad to be here. With the happy crowd around them, it was hard not to be.

"Who _was_ that?" Gwen asked.

"That was Captain Sunshine," Bethany said. "He's the chairman of the Lawful Legion."

"Oh." Gwen's eyes widened. "Last time I saw the Lawful Legion, they were all taken over by shadows! I'm not used to seeing their real selves."

"Look, Mommy, another superhero!" a young boy said, pointing at Kiel. The boy's mother tried to shush him, but the boy continued talking. "Look, look, Mommy, look! He's wearing a cape! I _love_ capes! Can we please get his autograph? _Please_?"

"No, we wouldn't want to bother him," his mother said.

"Please please please please please please _please_ —"

The woman smiled apologetically at Kiel. "Sorry. My son loves superheroes. He's kind of obsessed with them." She peered closer at him. "That's strange. How come you aren't wearing a mask?"

"It's not really my style," Kiel told her, then smiled as he bent down in front of little boy, placing his hands on his knees. "I'm not actually a superhero. I'm a magician. But I love capes, too." There was something he loved about meeting his fans, especially kids who were inspired by his stories. It always felt nice to be appreciated for who he was, despite how most people didn't know he was the real Kiel Gnomenfoot.

The boy only stared at him, unmoving, so Kiel continued talking. "I hear you like superheroes. Have you heard of 'Batman'?"

The boy shook his head, and his mother smiled before pulling him away. Kiel turned back to his friends. "I can't believe he's never heard of Batman. I thought all superheroes were famous."

"He's from Jupiter City!" Owen said. "He wouldn't have heard of Batman."

"But you told me that Batman was the greatest superhero of all time," Kiel said, and he saw Bethany roll her eyes.

Owen nodded. "He is." Then he paused. "Well, there are a lot of great superheroes. Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Superman, X-Men . . ." He trailed off. "There isn't one _specific_ —"

Bethany cleared her throat. "Guys, we kind of need to get going."

"Sorry," Owen said, blushing. "Um, so where's your dad and Orion? It seems like there are a few superheroes around today. Would they be here?"

"My dad? Maybe. But Orion? Definitely not. We're not usually about the whole publicity, fame thing." Bethany's smile faded, replaced by her usual seriousness. "I'm guessing they'll be at the Twilight Cave. That's where my dad's hideout is."

"Which way is the hideout?" Kiel asked.

"This way." Bethany pointed in the opposite direction. "Let's go straight there, first." Then, giving Owen and Kiel a look, she added, "Before we do _anything_ else."

It was still crowded due to the appearance of Captain Sunshine, so Bethany pushed through the crowd, the rest of the group trailing behind her until they were in a less populated area. They walked along the sidewalk, Owen walking alongside Bethany and Kiel next to Gwen as they made their way to the Jupiter Hill Observatory.

Given that the city was big, the walk took a bit longer than Kiel had expected. Then again, he'd never been to Doc Twilight's — Mr. Sanderson's — hideout. This was only his second time in Jupiter City after all, and last time he'd been here didn't give him many opportunities to hang around. He was looking forward to meeting Bethany's father, along with Orion, who was Bethany's adopted brother and sidekick.

He'd been waiting to meet her father ever since he was twelve, and he felt a twinge of regret that he hadn't been able to help Bethany find him. He wished that he'd been able to. It wasn't until he was in his own universe that Bethany had found her father, but nonetheless, Kiel was glad she had.

Even if he hadn't been able to help her achieve that. In the end, Kiel always had faith that Bethany would find her father someday. At least, he'd hoped so, since she had never been the type of person to give up on her goals. The only time she'd done that was when Kiel left to go back to Magisteria.

A mile-long walk later, Kiel spotted the Jupiter Hill Observatory, which was on top of Jupiter Hill. Aside from some people walking around nearby, it seemed to be deserted. After climbing up the hill, they slipped through the entrance, and found themselves standing in a brightly-lit, round room. There were computers all over the room, all which showed different information about space. A giant telescope filled most of the room, and a computer screen below it showed a map of the night sky.

" _This_ is his hideout?" Owen asked, looking around. "It looks more like a regular observatory." His eyes landed on the telescope, and he slowly walked towards it. "The secret entrance to his headquarters wouldn't be opened by the telescope, would it?"

"You got it," Bethany said, briefly grinning at him. "Let's go see my dad." She stepped forward and typed in a location in the computer underneath the telescope. The giant telescope rotated around until it pointed in a specific direction: the moon. Kiel watched in fascination as the wall behind the telescope disappeared, revealing stairs that led down into pitch-blackness.

Gwen's eyes lit up. "We went inside there to fight the Dark," she told Kiel and Owen, leaning towards them as Bethany made her way to the entrance of her father's hideout.

"Oh, yeah, I remember," Owen said, breaking into a grin. "I helped save you guys. Well, I helped save _Bethany_."

"No way," Bethany said, snorting. "I have it on good authority that _I_ was the one who defeated the Dark."

"Just kidding."

Kiel could tell that Owen was excited, because he'd barely stopped smiling since they arrived here, and there was a gleam in his eyes. Both Kiel and Owen had never met Bethany's father, and after years of hearing about him, Kiel couldn't wait. Since Doc Twilight was a superhero, that already meant he was a great person.

Plus, he was Bethany's father, so he had no doubt that Doc Twilight was someone worth meeting. Kiel was already going over all the things he could say when they met, because, after all, he _wanted_ Bethany's father to like him!

The four of them crept down the stairs, straining their eyes since it was dark. Once they reached the end of the stairs, Bethany frowned, looking back at them. "That's weird. They'd normally be here. Or at least the lights should be on." She turned on the lights, revealing a large cavernlike room filled with computers and various superhero trophies. Aside from that, it was completely empty.

"Huh," Kiel said as he looked around. "Looks like they aren't here."

"Maybe they're out fighting supervillians, or something?" Owen asked, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"I'm sure they'll come back soon," Gwen said.

"I don't know," Bethany said, shaking her head. "Let's split up. See if we can find out where they went."

"Okay," Owen said, and they each wandered in a different direction, searching for answers. The whole thing felt a bit strange to him. Maybe it was because it was still morning, or maybe because of the weird feeling in the room. Kiel had been in enough situations like this to know that something bad must've happened, but he didn't say that to Bethany.

He was analyzing a box in the corner when Gwen called them over. "Guys! I found something over here! It's a letter!"

The other three ran over to find Gwen standing in front of a table, a note clutched in her hand. There was a pen next to it, and the letter itself looked like it'd been written maybe a few weeks or days ago.

"Who's it from?" Bethany asked as she went to Gwen's side, leaning over to look at it.

Gwen's voice was quiet, lacking the usual excitement it held. "It's from your dad."

Bethany grabbed the letter from her, then quickly scanned it. Her eyes widened, and she looked up at them, not saying anything.

"What did he say?" Kiel asked. When Bethany didn't respond, he moved to read over her shoulder. Owen joined them, and as Kiel read the contents of the letter, he nearly gasped.

 _If anyone finds this, Twilight Girl, my daughter, has gone missing. Kid Twilight and I are going out to search for her. If you want to reach me, call me on my radio. Will be back soon._

 _\- Doc Twilight_

"This whole time . . . they've been looking for me," Bethany whispered, taking the letter again and rereading it. "This is worse than I thought it would be. _So_ much worse."

"Do you have a way to contact them?" Owen asked. "If not, maybe there's some cool superhero gadget around here we could use to find them, like a tracker."

She crossed her arms. "We don't put trackers on each other. We're superheroes!"

"How do you usually contact them, then?"

"With a radio." She sighed. ". . . Which I don't _have_ anymore."

"We might be able to find it if we all look around," Gwen offered.

"No, we can't. It would be with my dad and Orion, not here."

"Let's find them the old-fashioned way, then," Kiel said with a wink, moving to the stairs. Apparently no one wanted to object, because they all followed him out of the observatory and down the hill, where they began walking back the way they came.

He should've expected that something like this could happen, but honestly, he hadn't even thought of it. Last time he was here, he was so focused on joining Bethany back together that he hadn't stopped to think about what her father would think when she went missing. Now, her father and sidekick were out somewhere looking for her, and they had been for four days.

Kiel felt a twinge of guilt for putting Bethany's father through that kind of stress, having no idea where his daughter was. That had never been his intention. Not in the slightest. Doc Twilight must've been feeling the same way that Bethany did when he went missing for all those years. No wonder he hadn't bothered to come back to his hideout. He must've been worried that Bethany had been kidnapped or something, when in reality, she had only gone to the nonfictional world for a few weeks.

They passed by a school, where a crowd of little kids were running out of, looking terrified. Some of them held books or backpacks, while others simply ran for their lives, ditching their supplies on the lawn. Kiel, Owen, Bethany, and Gwen stopped in their tracks, sharing an equally confused look as they watched the kids run out of the building.

"What's going on?" Owen shouted, stumbling as a kid pushed past him.

Kiel frowned. "Maybe they just hate school?"

"I don't think so," Gwen said. "Look!" She pointed at the entrance of the school, where a teacher was standing, his hands full of papers. Even from far away, Kiel could tell that this was _no_ normal teacher. Not a nonfictional teacher at least, and certainly not the Magister.

"You _will_ learn, and you will realize the importance of school! You will _all_ get detention!" the teacher roared at the fleeing kids. He took a piece of paper out of the pile, then threw it like a boomerang. It reached a group of kids nearest to him, expanding to a larger size as it swirled around them, taking on a box-like shape. The little kids fell to the ground, some of them bursting into tears as the paper box enveloped them completely, giving Kiel no ability to see inside.

"Okay, that's a supervillian," Bethany whispered as she looked on in horror.

"We have to help those kids!" Gwen said, and without warning, she turned on her jetpack and flew over the lawn, landing beside the paper prison.

"Gwen, no!" Owen shouted, but the teacher turned his gaze on her, glaring furiously.

"Do not try to free my students from detention! They must learn the importance of school!"

"But this is mean!" Gwen said, kneeling down in the grass as she started pulling on the box. Instead of tearing away like paper normally did, it stayed still, looking as solid as a rock. The others ran over to her, and Kiel took his wand-knives out, stepping in front of Gwen as he glared right back at the villain.

"Why are you putting them in . . . detention?" Bethany asked. "That's not going to teach them _anything_. I've been there, and it hasn't taught me a thing."

"You've been to _detention_?" Owen asked, his eyes widening.

"Now isn't the time!" she hissed.

"They are _very_ bad students," the teacher replied, apparently not hearing Owen's comment. "They aren't passing my pop quizzes, so I'm teaching them a lesson. Once I round all of those horrible kids up, they will stay in detention for the rest of eternity!"

" _That's_ a little dramatic, don't you think?" Kiel said. "No one cares that much about school nowadays."

"No one _cares_?" the teacher shouted, suddenly zooming down the steps towards them. The four stepped back in surprise as the teacher closed in on them. "If you think you're so smart, I'll give you _all_ pop quizzes then! If you fail, I'll make sure you suffer the consequences!"

The villain snapped his fingers, and suddenly Kiel found himself sitting at a desk, now inside the school. His eyes widened in surprise, and he immediately moved to get out of the chair . . . only, he couldn't. It was as if some force was glueing him down, not allowing him to move a muscle. He huffed, trying to push his chair backward with his body instead. That didn't work either, and the chair stayed rooted to the ground.

Kiel looked down, then sighed in relief. His wand-knives were still there, but he couldn't move anything aside from his head, so escaping was out of the question. This was unexpected, and definitely shocking on so many levels. How could a supervillian have this much power? It felt a lot similar to the paralyzing spell in his spell book, except he had a bit more freedom.

He craned his head around, looking for his friends or the supervillian that had just been here a second ago. He couldn't see either. All he could tell was that he was in a very small room with only one desk and one door. Kiel sighed again. Not knowing what else to do, he looked at the desk in front of him. There was a sheet of paper sitting there, which he instantly recognized as a quiz.

Oh, _that_ was what the teacher had been talking about. A pop quiz. Well, Kiel had had plenty of those in English class. He hadn't done so well on those, but since he was in the fictional world now, there was a chance he'd do great. Hopefully, his natural talent would help him through it. Or else, he would end up in detention, just like the rest of those unfortunate kids.

Kiel tried to lift his arm to grab the pencil on the desk, feeling surprised when he was able to. Apparently he was allowed to move when it involved taking the quiz, but not for escaping. He was annoyed at the idea of taking a quiz when he had been planning to leave anything school-related behind, but this supervillian seemed to be good at what he was doing. He wanted to skip forward to the exciting part, when he wasn't taking this quiz anymore and could go straight to fighting the villain.

Quickly scanning the quiz, he saw that it involved something he wasn't very good at: math. He tended to be better at math than he was at English or science, but he still really didn't like it. Solving math problems just wasn't his thing; that was _Charm's_ thing. She was the half-robotic scientist, not him. He'd never cared much for complicated problems when clearly, magic could solve things much faster.

As fast as possible, Kiel began solving the problems on his quiz, mostly just by writing random answers that were probably wrong. He didn't care about the threat of getting detention. The sooner he got released from here, the better. He didn't have time to analyze every single problem when his friends were in danger. He figured they could handle this perfectly fine on their own, but they _did_ need him nonetheless. Once he got free, his magic could come in handy.

As soon as he set his pencil down, the room around him melted away — the chair included — and the supervillian appeared in front of him, holding four quizzes in his hand. Out of the corner of his eye, Kiel saw his friends standing beside him, their eyes on the teacher. They watched with baited breath as he flipped through their finished quizzes, then clenched his fists, squeezing the pieces of paper into balls.

"You _all_ have failed!" he shouted. "Now you must pay the price! _Detention_!"

"Scatter!" Kiel shouted as the teacher threw a piece of paper, narrowly missing the spot that his head had been. He ran towards the stairs, then had to duck as a piece of paper came soaring for his head. Some feet away, he saw Bethany running for the next hallway, not looking behind her as a piece of paper cake hurtling in her direction.

"Bethany!" Kiel called. "Watch out!"

Seeing as there wouldn't be a quick way for her to block it, he dived straight for Bethany, throwing his arms around her as the two of them hurtled to the ground. His arms were still locked around her as he fell hard on his back, and the two of them slid across the floor until they gradually halted to a stop.

"Nice save," Bethany grunted, opening her eyes.

"You can thank me later!" Kiel said, unable to stop himself from winking. Then he realized that he was practically laying on top of her, and his face was only a few inches away from her's. He quickly shoved himself to the side and started to help her up, only to be unexpectedly knocked off his feet.

"Ouch," Kiel muttered as he flew backward, landing on his stomach. He glanced over to see the teacher advancing towards him, Bethany, Owen, and Gwen, and he quickly pushed himself to standing.

"This guy is _crazy_ ," Owen said, glancing at them. "My quiz had only _fractions_ on it." He shuddered, and Kiel momentarily remembered how much Owen hated fractions.

"Same here," Bethany said, starting to back away as the supervillian drew closer, preparing to aim another piece of paper at him. "What do you say? Should we attack him from all sides?"

"I have some spells I can use," Kiel offered. "Want me to turn him into a hat?"

She rolled her eyes, grinning a little. "Maybe. But I wanna show him _never_ to mess with Twilight Girl. And we need to get him to jail, where the villains belong."

"We need to take away his papers," Owen said. "Take his weapon away, and _then_ take him down."

"I can do that!" Gwen said. She took off into the air, flying out of reach of the supervillian. Kiel nodded at Bethany and Owen, and at the same time, they charged at the supervillain. Clearly not expecting this, the teacher stared at them for a moment, giving Gwen just enough time to swoop in and grab the stack of papers from his hands.

"NO! What are you —" the teacher began, but Owen threw his shoulder against him, and Bethany swung her leg out, knocking him off his feet. Before the supervillian could get back up again, Kiel quickly cast a spell, which caused snakes to appear from the tips of his wand-knives. The snakes curled around the supervillian, weaving around his body until he was unable to move his arms.

The supervillian stared at them, red-faced and enraged. "You won't get away with this! You will _learn_!"

"I hope that someday, you won't be so angry," Gwen told him gently, landing on the ground beside Bethany. "I understand your frustration with your students, but putting them into detention is wrong. I'm not even sure what that is, but it doesn't seem fair."

The supervillian paused, looking at a loss for words. Bethany crossed her arms, then smiled a little at Gwen before she looked back at the supervillian. "We don't have time to bring you to jail, but don't worry, I'm sure the police will find you soon."

Pushing open the doors, they walked out of the school, leaving the angry and captive supervillian behind. Kiel noticed that the paper box holding all of those kids was still there, so he muttered another spell under his breath, pointing his wand-knives at the box. The paper melted away, and the five kids who'd been held captive only stared at them in horror before running off into the streets.

"Well _that_ happened," Owen said, releasing a breath.

"Are we just going to keep him locked up like that?" Gwen asked. "Isn't that a bit . . . cruel?"

"He'll be fine," Bethany said. "I always have to lock up villains like that. Usually not by myself, but we're kind of busy right now, so he'll just have to sit there until the police stop by. _Now_ let's go find my dad and Orion."

"Any idea where to look for them?" Kiel asked, placing his wand-knives back inside their sheaths. "We can't just wander around the city without an idea of where we're going."

Bethany sighed. "Since they think I'm missing, I'm guessing that they think I was kidnapped by some supervillian. If they _do_ think that, they must be pretty far away by now, since there are supervillians all over the place. We just have to find the fastest way to get across the city. Maybe by car or something. Walking will take _forever_."

The loud noise of a whistle from some distance away jolted all of them, and suddenly, a brilliant idea came to Kiel. "I think I know how we can get across the city faster." He grinned. "Follow me. If I'm right about this, I just found the _perfect_ way of transportation."

* * *

"We're hopping a _freight car_?" Owen whispered, his voice rising to a high pitched octave.

They were crouched behind the train tracks, ducked low enough so people wouldn't be able to see them. In all of her time in Jupiter City, Bethany had only taken this train once. But that was with her father, who also had money for a train ticket. Since none of them had money, illegally boarding a train seemed to be the best option. Not the smartest, Bethany concluded, but this was probably their best bet if they wanted to find her father and Orion as fast as possible.

And they had to. She was worried enough as it was, and every second she was apart from them only made her more anxious. She felt guilty for staying in the nonfictional world for so long, not only because of Nobody and the pure possibility wall, but also because of her family. She hadn't realized just how significant her sudden disappearance must've been to her father.

Bethany hadn't expected him to go looking for her, but it made sense that he did. Even if she was only gone for four days in fictional time, it still halted her father's life, just like it had halted her's when he had gone missing during her fourth birthday party. If he had gone missing again, she would've searched for him in a heartbeat, no matter how long it took.

She wasn't even sure where he and Orion could be, given the fact that they'd left four whole days ago. There was no telling which way they'd gone, or where. Once she and her friends got a bit farther away from the more crowded areas of the city, Bethany was certain she'd have a better chance of finding them. The less crowded parts tended to have more supervillians, too. She could always ask the citizens nearby for information of their whereabouts, as well.

"If you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it," Kiel said, wrinkling his nose. "I don't exactly have my spaceship nearby."

"I think we'll be fine," Bethany said, although she felt more nervous than she let on. She gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the tons of thoughts going through her head, which circulated through all the negative outcomes that this could bring. "I've seen it done a bunch of times in books."

"Oh, yeah. I have too. But that doesn't mean we aren't gonna get caught!" Owen gestured to the guards walking around the train, who were either standing guard or were checking to make sure the train was running properly. At the front of the train, Bethany could see that passengers were boarding, each of them carrying their own individual bags as they hopped aboard.

Gwen patted him on the arm. "It's okay, Owen. We won't get caught."

Bethany glanced back and forth from the guards to the train. "We just gotta find the right timing . . ."

"I'll cause a distraction," Kiel said, suddenly jumping to his feet before any of them could protest. He started running across the train tracks, then cast a spell which sent fireballs flying into the air. The guards scattered, all yelling in surprise and fear as they tried to avoid the fireballs.

"Too late." She sighed. As always, Kiel was running into danger without a second thought. The thought almost made her smile, but she forced herself to focus on the task at hand.

Bethany stood up, looked left and right, then started across the empty train tracks as shouts rang around her. Her heart pounding, she didn't look back as she ran, her sneakers squeaking against the metal of the tracks. Just as she climbed up the ladder and landed on the wooden platform of the freight car, Gwen was running across the tracks, ducking low as one of the guards tried shooting his gun at her.

A train whistle blared, signaling the departure of the train. Bethany grabbed Gwen's arm and helped her onto the train, then waved for Owen to run over. "Hurry!"

Hesitantly, Owen stood up from his spot on the ground and stumbled across the train tracks, not watching where he was going. All of the sudden, he tripped and fell flat on his face. He lay on the ground for a few seconds, moaning in pain as he slowly lifted his broken arm from the ground.

Bethany gasped. "Owen!"

"I'll get him!" came a shout, and Bethany and Gwen watched as Kiel ran into view, grabbing Owen by the arms and yanking him up.

"Come on!" Gwen said, clapping her hands in an encouraging manner. "You can do it!"

The train whistle sounded again, and Bethany could only watch helplessly as the two boys started to move and sprinted the rest of the way over the train tracks. More gunshots were heard, the bullets coming close to hitting Owen and Kiel a few times. By the time they got to the ladder, their faces were flushed and they were panting heavily.

"Go, go, go," Bethany whispered frantically as she watched Owen climb the ladder with one shaking hand, struggling to climb up. When he neared the top, she stuck her hand out and grabbed him under his armpit, pulling him up the rest of the way. She moved back to allow him space, then leaned forward again to watch Kiel. But it was too late. There was a hissing noise, and then to the group's horror, the train started to move.

"Grab the ladder!" Owen shouted.

Kiel had to run to catch up with the train, as it was increasing in speed. He was struggling to grab the rails of the ladder. "It's moving too fast!"

"Kiel!" Gwen cried, motioning with her hands. "Please hurry! You can do it!"

Her heart hammering in her chest, Bethany leaned her body out of the window, gripping the handle for support and extending her other hand to reach for his. "Kiel, grab my hand!"

After a few failed attempts of their hands brushing against each other, Kiel's hand finally latched onto her's. With the other two's help, she pulled him onto the ladder, where he climbed the rest of the way and rolled onto the freight car. Beaming, Gwen closed the large sliding door, enveloping them into darkness.

Bethany sat back against the wall, her breaths coming out slightly shaky as she listened to the train moving below them, along with her friends' own breathless laughs. She closed her eyes, waiting for her heartbeat to slow. She'd been in the fictional world for not even an hour, and she was already fully immersed in yet another dangerous adventure. Somehow, it felt overwhelming. This past week had been filled with danger, and it seemed that it wasn't going to end anytime soon.

Soon enough, she'd find her father and Orion, and they could help her fight Nobody. She was certain that having her father with her would make up for it all. She couldn't face this alone, no matter how much she didn't want others getting hurt. If he was with her on this mission to defeat Nobody, she knew they could succeed. All her worries, all her fears would fade away once she had her father with her again.

In spite of everything that had been going on lately, she found herself smiling at the knowledge of what was to come.

It was time to find her family.

* * *

 _"_ _On and on and on we are calling out and out again. Never looking down I'm just in awe of what's in front of me . . ."_


	28. Orion's Search

**_Shadows (by The Afters)_**

 _"_ _Wake up the statues, breathe out the dust. Shock of a heartbeat, rush of the blood. Breaking in to my skin, feel the burning again . . ."_

* * *

Like most things, it had happened unexpectedly.

Orion had been searching for four days. Four for Bethany, who had unexpectedly gone missing. Four for Doc Twilight, who had inconveniently gone missing as well. His father figure had disappeared shortly after the two had started their search for Bethany on the night she'd gone missing.

After investigating the area where they'd last seen Bethany and ultimately realizing that she must be in danger, Orion and Doc Twilight had decided to split up so they'd cover more ground. That had been a mistake, because when Orion searched for him later, Doc Twilight was nowhere to be seen. It felt eerily similar to when Doc had gone missing for several months — back when he'd turned into the Dark — leaving Orion on his own to take care of things.

The thing was, Orion had become used to training and living with Doc Twilight, who had practically raised him ever since his parents died in an alien invasion. The man had become like a father to him, and although Orion was not one to openly express his emotions, he was worried about him. He couldn't help but be worried about Bethany, too, who had grown like a sister to him ever since she'd started living with them for three years. They were his family, and their disappearance made Orion feel as dark as one of the shadows that used to take over the city.

At first, Orion had searched for what felt like hours, growing more frustrated when he could not find his father figure. He had tried everything to contact him, and when Doc failed to pick up his radio, he began his search, which had expanded into four days. First his adopted sister went missing, and now his father figure? Orion didn't believe in coincidences, and this hardly felt like one. The two disappearances had to be related, somehow.

It was an absolute mystery to him where Doc Twilight and Bethany were, given the fact that they'd disappeared out of nowhere, not leaving a single clue that showed where they were. He would not rest for a second until he found them. The only explanation that he could come up with was that they'd been kidnapped. By who, Orion didn't know, but he assumed that the supervillains had something to do with this.

There wasn't another explanation besides that, so Orion set off with a plan to interrogate every single supervillain in Jupiter City, fighting anyone that dared to cross his path. Whoever was holding his family captive would _pay,_ and Orion would make sure that the supervillain involved in this would suffer greatly, right before he put them into jail. It made him even more furious to think that anyone in their right mind would mess with his family.

So far, Orion had traveled a good distance across Jupiter City, sleeping in public buildings or in cars when he wasn't fighting supervillians. He didn't bother heading back to the Twilight Cave, where his hideout was. What was the point in that? It would be idiotic, and Orion was the least idiotic person he knew. That would be a waste of time, especially because there were so many supervillians left to interrogate.

Finding Doc and Bethany was his greatest priority right now. He knew they could handle themselves, but he was worried about them. He had no idea where they were or how to contact them. Who knew what could be happening to them, all while Orion was still out here, taking four days and maybe even more to find them?

At the start of day four, Orion slowly opened his eyes after a restless sleep and squinted against the harsh, unforgiving sunlight that shone down on him. Since the best time to find supervillians was at night, he'd been roaming the streets all night until he eventually gave into his exhaustion. He was never the type to enjoy sunshine or the morning, so both things made him feel even more unpleasant than he already was.

Grunting, he slowly sat up from the hard floor of the Jupiter City Public Library, blinking as he took in the scene before him. After sneaking in through the window and wedging himself behind a bookcase in the very back of the room, he was able to sleep without getting noticed. Luckily, it wasn't crowded, which was why it'd been such a great hiding spot on his part. From what he could tell, only a couple of people were here at this time of day.

Using his Twilight staff for leverage, Orion picked himself up from the ground, feeling stiff in all sorts of places. Sleeping on the ground wasn't his ideal form of comfort, but he didn't have much of a choice. Nothing could truly comfort him anymore, anyway. Not after what had happened.

Sneaking along the walls to avoid attracting attention, Orion made his way to the wooden door at the front of the library. Checking to make sure no one was watching (which no one was) he opened it as quietly as he could and slipped outside into the fresh morning air. It was even brighter outside, and he had to shade his eyes at first to get a good look at everything around him.

As usual, citizens were walking up and down the streets, safe for the time being before a supervillian decided to show up. Thanks to the superheroes — including Orion, obviously — Jupiter City was a safe place to live most of the time. At least, for the citizens it was. Because of superheroes like Captain Sunshine and Athena and Doc Twilight that kept them protected, there wasn't a reason for them _not_ to be.

As for Orion, he rarely felt secure, and now was no exception. There was never a time that he didn't feel on-edge. If someone had kidnapped both Doc and Bethany, then they must be trying to kidnap all of the Twilights, which meant they'd kidnap Orion, too. He'd kept this at the back of his head during the past four days, just for another reason to keep himself moving. All he could think about was rescuing his family from the supervillian that was malicious enough to capture them.

Brushing out his purple cape and straightening his mask, Orion started down the street, ignoring any confused looks that people gave him. It was probably because it was eight in the morning, and he was still wearing his superhero outfit when he normally would just be wearing regular clothes. Not that he _should_ be wearing regular clothes, because he was on a mission.

Unlike the other superheroes, he could care less about pleasing the public. That was his last concern. Doc Twilight was different, because everyone liked him. But Orion? With the exception of Doc and Bethany, he preferred to be alone. It was something he was used to, and he knew that he could get the job done quicker that way. It was rare for him to like many people, anyway. So as long as he avoided people at all costs, he'd be —

"Hi, Kid Twilight!" a female street vendor said, smiling at him. "Where's Doc Twilight?"

"I really wouldn't know," Orion replied, inwardly groaning. It was hard not to be annoyed when everything else in his life had gone wrong, and Doc and Bethany were still missing. How could these people be so friendly when the worst had occurred? How _could_ they?

"Anyway . . . do you want to buy my products? I have a bunch of clothes that I'm sure would fit you. What size are you? Oh, and I even have a Doc Twilight shirt. Want to see?" Orion stopped moving, then slowly turned to stare at her as she lifted a purple shirt from the pile, which had a picture of a mask on it. Underneath it was written, "Twilight Rules".

"So?" the woman was saying, practically shoving the shirt in his face. He stepped back instinctively, his eyes narrowed. But the woman didn't seem to notice the look he was giving her, and continued speaking. "What do you say? Do you want to get it?"

"I would rather chew off my own _foot_ ," Orion hissed.

"Excuse me?"

He didn't hear if she said anything else, mostly because he threw open the door of the nearest cafe and quickly closed it behind him, already done with the conversation. He scanned the room, which was starting to fill up with citizens. They all looked up in surprise when he walked in, so he averted their gazes and went to the counter.

The man working at the counter looked almost worried, but he regained his composure quickly and gave Orion a strained smile. "Good morning, Kid Twilight. What can I get you?"

"I want coffee," Orion stated bluntly, then eyed the various coffee flavors on the table behind the checkout counter before adding, "Um . . . black. I want to get a cup of black coffee."

The man raised an eyebrow. "You want black coffee?"

" _Yes_ ," Orion replied, sighing heavily. Why did the man even _care_ about what kind of coffee he got? Why did adults have to act like this? That was another reason he couldn't stand many people. They were always acting like a fifteen year-old was incapable of certain things, such as drinking a completely bitter, black coffee.

"Okay." The man typed something into his computer. "You can wait for your coffee over there." He pointed to the line of people who were waiting for theirs. "Have a great day. Oh, and tell Doc Twilight to come by here sometime!"

"Will do," Orion said, grimacing. Trying not to roll his eyes, he walked over to the other line to wait for his coffee.

He was tired after all the nights he'd been up late, interrogating supervillian after supervillian in hopes that his family would be there. He was normally up late anyway, but not to the extent that he was doing now. Having a decent cup of coffee to reenergize him would be the smartest move. He couldn't allow himself to get lazy or slow when he was on an important mission.

Once the worker behind the counter handed him his coffee, Orion went back outside and walked along the sidewalk. He poured the coffee into his mouth, then nearly choked at the bitterness that came with it. Sometimes black coffee was just _too_ bitter, even for him. He scowled, but managed to finish the rest of it before throwing it out.

"Interrogation time," Orion whispered, curling his hand tighter around his Twilight staff.

Slipping into an alleyway, he headed to the back of a large pizza restaurant, which looked suspiciously dark and empty. He knew that it wasn't actually a pizza restaurant, because it'd been closed for as long as he remembered. As Orion concluded, this was exactly the kind of place where a supervillian might be lurking. If not, then he'd continue searching elsewhere until he found one.

He had a dislike for fighting supervillians this early in the morning, but it wasn't like he could wait. He couldn't waste any time when Doc Twilight and Bethany were still missing. He had to rescue them as soon as possible. It was frustrating that he hadn't even _found_ them yet, when normally, Orion was skilled in that kind of thing. It'd been four days of searching, and no supervillian he'd come across even knew where they were.

Orion walked over to the door at the back of the restaurant and jiggled the knob once, twice, then three times. It was locked. Interesting. He went around to the side of the building, looking for any windows that he could climb into. Once he found one, he closed the lid of a dumpster that was positioned underneath it and climbed on top of it. The window was too high for him to reach from the ground, so he needed an extra boost just so he could get inside.

 _They're here_ , he thought to himself, just like he did every time before he broke into a supervillian's lair. Every time, they were never there. But he assured himself of it anyway, even if it wasn't the most logical thing to believe. Just to convince himself that they were there, and that he wasn't wasting his time.

Either way, it felt good to serve justice. And get some pizza, if this actually _was_ a real pizza restaurant.

He crept over to the window and slowly rolled it open. He was surprised to find it unlocked, but then again, if this really was an abandoned restaurant then there'd be no need to lock it. On the other hand, if this was actually a supervillian's lair — like Orion predicted — then it would only mean that they did a terrible job of keeping their windows locked. It wouldn't be surprising. Supervillians really could be careless sometimes.

Sliding his feet first through the window, Orion placed both hands on the wall and pushed himself through, just like he'd done hundreds of times. Once he got inside, he shoved off hard from the windowsill, landing gracefully on the floor below without making a sound. The room was dark aside from the small amount of light that came from the window, but he could see that it used to be a kitchen. There were a few old pizza ovens, along with everything else that a restaurant's kitchen might have.

Orion glanced back at the window he came through before sneaking out of the kitchen. Pushing open the double doors as quietly as he could, he found himself facing a very different take on what a pizza restaurant should look like.

The few windows that were in the room were boarded up, allowing just enough light for Orion to see by. Instead of tables and chairs where costumers might've previously sat at, there were boxes all over the place, and a large, strange-looking machine with a pointed tip was sitting on the floor. A single table was in the middle of the room, with piles of papers and other supplies on top of it.

The most concerning, however, was the wall. All along the wall were pictures of superheroes, along with newspaper clippings that were related to each one. He spotted the entire Lawful Legion, along with every single superhero that Orion knew. They covered the entire length of the wall, making it impossible for Orion to look away. He was staring at the superheroes he'd known all his life. He felt a shiver go down his spine as he spotted Doc Twilight's picture among them.

He looked away, his frown deepening. Why would anyone have pictures of all the superheroes on their wall? He'd never seen anything like this before, but he doubted it was uncommon. Whoever had made this display clearly wanted to keep track of the superheroes, so this only proved that a supervillian had created it. A supervillian _definitely_ lived here, or at least stored some of their equipment here for later use.

As Orion walked away from the wall, he heard a noise from the back of the restaurant. He quickly drew back into the shadows in the corner of the room, giving him a clear view of the door. He watched in silence as a figure walked through the door, wearing what looked like a dog costume. He instantly recognized the supervillian as someone he and Doc Twilight had thrown into jail a few years ago, called the "Deranged Dog".

Orion narrowed his eyes. Did supervillians _never_ learn? Every time he put them into jail, they only seemed to escape from it and go back to their destructive ways. All they wanted to do was ruin the entire world and wreck the lives of citizens and superheroes. The wrongdoers had to pay for their actions. The supervillians couldn't get away with their plans, especially if they were holding Doc and Bethany captive.

He watched as the Deranged Dog glanced around the room before walking over to one of the machines and analyzing it. The supervillian bent down, typing something into the keyboard of the machine. When he was done, the machine whirred to life, making loud beeping noises.

The Deranged Dog began laughing. "Ah-ha! Finally, _one_ of my machines work. With this machine, I can start by destroying the Lawful Legion headquarters." He patted the machine, smiling down at it. "You are going to help me take down all the superheroes." He turned his back on Orion, and the young superhero saw his chance.

Extending an arm out, he launched two Twilight throwing stars straight at the man. Both throwing stars imbedded themselves into the sides of his costume, sending him flying into the wall. The Deranged Dog gasped at the impact, both groaning in pain and frantically looking all around him. He struggled to move against the throwing stars, but — thanks to Orion's undeniable skill — they held fast, not allowing him to break free.

"You should really put locks on your windows," Orion said in a low, gruff voice from his hiding place in the darkness, making the supervillian jump. "Never know who might break in."

" _What is this_?" the Deranged Dog snarled. "Who's there?"

Calmly stepping out of his hiding spot, Orion smashed his Twilight staff several times into the machine. The whirring noise stopped, and the machine broke apart, pieces of it falling to the floor. He looked up at the Deranged Dog, who's expression turned more to one of confusion. "You don't recognize me, do you? I bet you feel pretty bad about yourself right now, now that your machine is destroyed."

The supervillian stared at him, slowly breathing in and out. "I can't believe you just _destroyed_ my machine!"

"You said you were going to destroy the Lawful Legion's headquarters," Orion said, tilting his head. "I think I have a _very_ good reason for destroying it."

"I don't know who you think you are, young man, but —"

"'Young man'?" he repeated, tilting his head.

"Just listen!" the Deranged Dog said, looking a lot more nervous now than he'd been a minute ago. "Just listen, young man. I have no idea how you got in here, but this isn't what it looks like. I wasn't going to destroy the headquarters, I _swear_. I was going to help the superheroes!"

Orion scoffed, shaking his head as he walked closer. "I've heard that one before."

"I'm sure you just heard me wrong." The supervillian laughed. When Orion didn't say anything, he cleared his throat and continued, "Now, young man, there's no reason to act like I'm doing anything wrong, alright? This may look bad, but you don't know the real reason I'm using it. All you have to do is let me go, and then you can go home and forget this whole thing ever happened —"

His anger rising, Orion leapt forward, grabbing the Deranged Dog by the shirt. "Stop talking," he growled. "I know exactly who you are, Deranged Dog. And I'm sure you know who I am. I'm Kid Twilight, Doc Twilight's sidekick? Heard of me yet?" He pushed the supervillian's head against the wall, making him flinch. "And there's _no_ way I'm leaving just yet. Not until justice has been served."

The Deranged Dog said nothing, which was probably smart on his part. Orion was sick of hearing the supervillian talk about his crimes as if they weren't real. He loosened his grip but kept his hands there, knowing fully well that there wouldn't be an easier way to get the supervillian to talk.

"So just give me the information I need, and I'll be on my way," Orion continued, glaring at him through his mask. He felt his anger rising. "And if you call me 'young man' _one more time_ , I'm gonna make you wish that you never laid eyes on Kid Twilight. Got it?"

The Deranged Dog nodded several times, and Orion let go of him, seething with anger. The supervillian sighed, his eyes drifting around the room. "What makes you think I'll give you any information, young ma—" He flinched again. "Er, _Kid Twilight_?"

"Because the world depends on it," Orion said. "And I know that _you_ know exactly where they are. The others I've interrogated said that didn't, but I think they were lying. This time, I'm going to _make_ sure you give me an answer. It doesn't look like you're holding them captive, but I'm guessing you know who is."

To his frustration, the Deranged Dog began to laugh crazily. Orion stared at him, dumbfounded for a second. He curled his fists into balls. "Why are you laughing?"

"I don't know the answer to that, so you can let me go!" He laughed again. "I'm guessing _you_ will have to find someone else to question."

No way. After all this, the Deranged Dog still wasn't going to tell him the whereabouts of Bethany and Doc? Orion wasn't going to let that happen. He was tired of interrogating supervillian after supervillian and _still_ having no leads. No, he _would_ get the information right now. He had to.

"I'll give you one last chance," Orion said, picking up his Twilight staff and hitting the supervillian in the stomach with it. The Deranged Dog's laugh faded, replaced by a groan. "Tell. Me. Where. They. Are."

"Who's 'they'?" he rasped.

"Don't act dumb! You know who I'm talking about! Doc Twilight and Twilight Girl! Where are they?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Orion rolled his eyes, ready to raise his staff again, but the supervillian quickly waved his hands. "No, I mean, I really _don't_! If a superhero was being held captive by one of us, I would know about it. I didn't know they were missing."

Orion paused, feeling only confused now. He sighed, then stepped away from the supervillian and released him from the Twilight throwing stars. The Deranged Dog fell to the ground, and for the first time, Orion didn't make a move to take him to jail. Maybe it was the sudden wave of helplessness that hit him, just to know that his family was gone, maybe forever. He felt lost, uncertain of where to go.

Did the supervillians really not know where they were? Orion wanted to believe otherwise, but all the evidence told him that they were telling the truth. He hated that there wasn't someone who could tell him the information he needed. How was he going to find his family now? The Deranged Dog was right about one thing: if Doc Twilight and Bethany were being held captive by a supervillian, he would've heard about it.

Orion started back to way he came, only to duck as something whizzed past his ear. Two Twilight throwing star embedded themselves in the wall behind him, aimed right for the back of his head. He glanced back at the Deranged Dog, only to see him standing fully upright, breathing heavily.

"Oh, I almost forgot to grab those," Orion said. "Thanks for the reminder." He walked over to the wall and plucked them out with ease. He looked back at the supervillian. "You're lucky I'm not throwing you into jail, but I have better things to do. You should really work on your aim next time."

With that, he went into the kitchen and climbed out through the window. He slid off of the dumpster, feeling only satisfied with the knowledge that he'd destroyed the Deranged Dog's machine. But that hardly felt like an accomplishment now, since he still had no idea where his family was.

Sighing again, the boy walked out of the alleyway and into the bright sunshine. The cheerful voices of the people around him did nothing to lift his dreary mood. Nothing could after what he heard from the Deranged Dog. He walked along the sidewalk, his eyes cast to the ground as he contemplated a new plan.

He'd have to use a different approach to finding Doc Twilight and Bethany. The supervillians didn't have them, so maybe he should infiltrate the Lawful Legion's hall and search for clues there. Or the route that involved talking, which was to tell the Lawful Legion what had happened. Maybe they knew where the two superheroes had gone, or maybe they could find them better than Orion could. Orion preferred to work alone, and he hated letting other people do his job for him, but if they could find them, it would be worth it.

Deciding that that was the best route for now, Orion headed to the train station, since walking would take too long with a mission as important as this. After purchasing a ticket, he waited on the bench for the train to arrive. It took a while — maybe twenty minutes — before the train rolled into view. The gears halted loudly to a stop, and Orion sat back as people started to get off the train.

Once the train was emptied, the conductor shouted for everyone to board the train. Orion moved to stand in the long line, waiting impatiently before he could board. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a flash of movement and turned his head. He furrowed his brows in confusion as four figures hopped off the train, from the area where supplies were stored for shipment.

 _Criminals_ , Orion thought, tightening his grip on his Twilight staff. He glanced at the long line before him and made his decision. He slipped out of line, then began running to the group of stowaways, ready to yell at them for their illegal feats and deliver justice once again.

However, as he came closer, he noticed one of the stowaways — a redheaded girl — pushing herself out of the train. All of the fight poured out of him. How was this possible? He came to a stop, unable to believe his eyes. His jaw dropped as he locked eyes with none other than his adopted sister, Bethany Sanderson, who's shocked expression mirrored his.

"Bethany," he stated, too surprised to say much of anything else. She looked different from when he last saw her. She wasn't wearing her usual Twilight Girl outfit, and instead was wearing normal clothes. He was relieved to see that there weren't any signs that she'd been hurt.

Quickly, he came to his senses. Not even noticing the other people around her, Orion threw his arms around her, if a bit awkwardly. He felt her stiffen inside his embrace, only to relax and put her arms around him too. He closed his eyes, ignoring the fact that he'd never hugged her before and this was definitely weird for both of them. In this moment, that little detail didn't matter. All that mattered was that she was okay.

* * *

If there was one thing Bethany hadn't been expecting, it was to see her father's sidekick standing there as she and her friends jumped off of the train. She'd expected a much longer search for her family, since Jupiter City was big. Then, to add to her surprise, Orion had hugged her. _Hugged_ her. Never in a thousand years would Bethany have seen that coming. Not even if someone time traveled to the future and told her it would happen. Not even then.

Yet, here she was, her eyes closed shut as she hugged him. Given how stiff he was, she wouldn't be surprised if this was the first time he'd hugged _anyone_. It'd been so long since she had last seen him. It felt almost overwhelming, but in a good way. He could be annoying sometimes, but missed him more than she would ever admit. Her worries that she'd never find him faded away, overpowered by her confusion and relief.

The moment of peace was over, as Orion gently pulled away with an almost angry expression. "Bethany, where have you been? Do you have any _idea_ how long I've been looking for you guys for the past four days? How many villains I've had to interrogate?"

Wait, four days? Bethany had been in the nonfictional world for three weeks, not four days! Then, she remembered the time difference between the real world and Jupiter City. While she was separated, the two worlds must've been running on the same timeline, since her fictional and nonfictional selves were separated equally for three years. Once she was rejoined, the timeline must've been reset back to normal, since the comic book world tended to move a bit slower than the real world.

"I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye," she said, not breaking his gaze. A very familiar feeling of guilt entered her, making her feel a pang in her chest. "I had to leave. It's . . . kind of a long story."

"I hope your little sightseeing tour was worth it." He sighed heavily. "I'm just glad you weren't being held captive or anything. Now, where's Doc?"

"What do you mean 'where's Doc'?" Bethany scoffed. "Is that a joke? He was with _you_!"

"What?" Orion stared at her. "No, he disappeared. Right after you did."

"Where did he _go_?"

"Does it _look_ like I know?"

"You _should_ know! You were with him!"

Orion growled in frustration. "Well, I don't. He's gone now."

"But I saw the note from Dad, which said that you guys were going out to look for me —"

"That was four _days_ ago," Orion said. "He went missing shortly after you did, so I thought he was with you. I figured one of the supervillians was holding both of you captive, because you both went missing around the same time. Guess I should've known it couldn't be a coincidence."

Bethany's heart sunk. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. After all the failed plans and danger and quests, her father wasn't even here. This wasn't _fair_. She'd arrived here, more than ready to see him again, and he'd already been taken away from her? If she'd only stopped holding herself back, she could've saved him before this happened. She _never_ should've left Jupiter City without saying goodbye. That had been a huge mistake.

There had to be a solution for this. There _had_ to be. After everything . . . he was gone? She was going to fix this. She didn't care what it took, as long as no one else got hurt. She couldn't lose him again, not to Nobody. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. Suddenly, she was twelve years-old again, desperately missing her father and wondering where on earth he could be.

"We didn't get captured," she said slowly. "I mean — _I_ didn't. Again, it's a long story, but I went back to the nonfictional world. That's where I was. I wasn't kidnapped. But if _Dad's_ gone . . ."

"If the supervillians don't have him . . . I think I know who does," Owen said, making Bethany flinch. She'd forgotten all about her friends, who'd been silently watching their conversation.

She looked at him, and the realization hit her. The supervillians didn't know where her father was because he _wasn't_ in his world. She knew exactly who was holding him captive, and an unpleasant chill went down her spine. Of _course_ this had happened. This happened when Bethany was four years-old, and it had happened again. _Again_ , her father had been taken from her by Nobody. This time, it was a personal message.

"Nobody," she said, swallowing hard. Owen nodded.

"Who?" Orion asked.

"He's a villain, and, um, he's trying to wipe out every world," Owen told him. "Your world, included. He's more powerful than anyone you could imagine, and we need to stop him before he defeats all of the worlds."

"Yeah. He's the one who took Dad away from me — I mean, _us_ — the first time," Bethany said. "It's a really long story."

Orion didn't look fazed. "Defeating the world, huh? I've heard that from every supervillian I've come across. This guy doesn't sound any different. I've been defeating supervillians since I was little. Fighting them has always been some kind of game, aside from the months when the Dark showed up. Half the time the supervillians wanted us to figure out their plans, maybe so they could trap us, maybe just because it was more fun. Each time I fight them just seems to get easier, so unless he's the Dark, I don't think he'll be taking over the world anytime soon."

She shook her head. "You're underestimating him. He has the power to rewrite himself into anything _and_ the power to destroy the worlds. He's incredibly dangerous. You remember how it was under the Dark? It'll be ten times worse than that, but I think we can beat him if we face him together."

Orion went silent for a moment, looking as if he was contemplating something. "If he's as powerful as you say, it doesn't seem like it'd be worth facing him at all."

" _What_?" Bethany, Kiel, and Gwen said together.

"You don't _care_?" Owen gasped. "It doesn't bother you at all?"

"Not really, no. This has nothing to do with rescuing Doc Twilight from wherever he is, and it sounds pointless, anyway. The heroes _always_ win here, so the villians will lose. It's as simple as that."

Bethany growled in frustration. "This has everything to do with rescuing him, Orion. I have a feeling that Nobody has him. We have to face him anyway, and we'll get Dad back once we do!"

"But do you know for sure if he's with this guy?" Orion asked. Bethany didn't respond. Really, she didn't know. But she figured he would be, because he clearly wasn't in Jupiter City anymore. If he was missing, he'd have to be with Nobody.

"Don't you get it?" her father's sidekick continued. "There's no way I'm coming on some mission to stop a villain who you _think_ might have Doc Twilight. I know he isn't with any supervilian. I've already questioned several, and he isn't with any of them. I'm going to look somewhere else, probably in the Lawful Legion's headquarters. My responsibilities are _here_ , in Jupiter City."

Then, before anyone could say anything, he added, "For another thing, look at the group you've put together." He gestured to Owen, making him blush. "This boy has a broken arm." He looked at Bethany. "You are less experienced than I am in martial arts." He glanced at Kiel. "I guess you're okay." Then he pointed to Gwen. "And also, you have a girl who doesn't believe in violence. No offense, Gwen, but I don't know how helpful that would be in a fight."

"You're right, I don't believe in violence," Gwen said. "Because I'd rather find common ground with people. I think everyone has a special talent, and our weaknesses aren't what define us. They just make us stronger."

"And out of all of us, she's the most powerful one," Bethany defended, making Gwen blush.

"Nobody isn't your average supervillian," Owen said. "I know what the supervillians here are like, and he's not like them. Every time we've faced him, he _always_ wins. He's impossible to beat, and we need all the help we can get."

"Yeah!" Gwen said. "Just please, come with us. We could use your help."

"It's not just about finding Bethany's father," Kiel pointed out. "It sounds like the villians you've fought have been easy, and I get that. The villain _I_ kept fighting always lost." He chuckled. "Every time."

"It wouldn't be nice to call her a villain, but I fought with my former ex-best friend," Gwen said, shrugging. "She wasn't as powerful as Nobody, either."

Bethany smiled a little at that, then looked at Orion. "We'll find him. I promise. I know exactly how you feel. I've been dying to see him, too. But just come with us, okay? I _know_ that my father is with Nobody. He wouldn't have been captured by anyone else."

Orion let out a sigh, giving up. " _Fine_. I'll come, alright? But if Doc isn't there, I'll —"

"He'll be there," she assured him.

"Yeah," Owen said. "I've _seen_ Bethany's dad get captured by Nobody when I was in that comic book place, so if he did it again, I wouldn't be that surprised."

Orion looked from Owen to Kiel, as if noticing them for the first time. "And who are you two?"

"Sorry, I should've introduced myself earlier," Owen said, a nervous smile forming on his face. "I'm Owen."

"I'm Kiel," Kiel said with a wink. He extended a hand, and Orion shook it. "I like the mask." He grinned. "Very mysterious. Bethany tells me you're her brother?"

"In a way," Orion said. "Doc raised me after my parents died in an alien invasion, and he's become like a father to me. Since Bethany's his daughter, she's like my sister." He almost smiled. "And _you_ can call me Kid Twilight."

"Call him Orion," Bethany said. Her adopted brother glared at her, and she smiled back innocently.

Orion glanced at Gwen, pointing a finger at her. "I remember you. The weirdly happy girl, Gwen."

Gwen smiled. "That's me! It's good to see you, Orion. Or should I keep calling you Kid Twilight? Whichever you prefer, as long as it doesn't make you uncomfortable."

"No, that's fine. Call me Orion," he said.

Before she could say anything else, the train whistle blared, and all of them covered their ears from the loud noise. They all turned around towards the noise, and stared at the train, which was now filled with passengers.

"We need to get on that train," Orion said suddenly.

"Why?" Owen asked.

"We have to get back to our hideout. I should pick up some supplies there before I go anywhere. And in the meantime, you can fill me in on this terrible plan of yours that will probably get us killed, if this villain is really as dangerous as you say he is."

"He is, and don't try to back out of it," Bethany warned as they headed back towards the front of the train. "You agreed to come with us."

"I did. I just hope it won't be a waste of time."

"It won't," Owen said. "You're a superhero, so saving the world must be fun for you. You'll enjoy this." He smiled.

Orion rolled his eyes. "Saving the world isn't that fun, kid. And I won't be enjoying anything unless we actually save Doc Twilight."

"Hey, don't call me 'kid'," Owen said, his face reddening. Bethany snickered, and next to her, she saw Kiel trying not to laugh. "I'm the same age as you!"

"Doesn't seem like it," Orion replied, snorting.

" _This_ is your brother?" Kiel whispered to Bethany, nudging her lightly in the side. "He's so . . . different from you."

Bethany laughed before she even knew she was doing it. "You don't know the half of it." In spite of her father being missing and the threat of Nobody taking over the world, it felt like things were getting more hopeful as their group grew. All they had to do was recruit the last of their friends, and then they'd be all set to fight Nobody _and_ get her father back.

"Guys, I think we can still make it!" Gwen said, suddenly grabbing Bethany's hand as she pointed at the door. Bethany's face heated up at the contact, but she didn't pull away. It suddenly occurred to her that holding Gwen's hand felt nice, just as nice as when Kiel held her hand. She hadn't noticed before. Or maybe she had. Her thoughts were suddenly all over the place, churning in her whirlwind of confusing emotions. It was a relief that she had something more important to focus on, like their quest.

The five of them ran over to the door and boarded the train as quickly as possible. They had to walk single-file, because the hallway wasn't wide enough to fit more than one person in the aisle. After several minutes of searching for an empty spot, they collapsed into seats near the front of the train. Soon, the train started up, and they were once again heading back to Doc Twilight's hideout.

For a good thirty minutes, Bethany told Orion everything she knew about Nobody, including what he'd done to her and her friends. She was relieved that he'd decided to come, because she knew how wary he'd been about the idea in the first place. The truth was: she needed him for this. As irritating as he sometimes was, he was her family. He was her brother, and she couldn't lose him like she'd lost her father.

It made sense that he wanted to focus on finding Doc Twilight, but how _couldn't_ he care about the safety of his world? After everything she'd seen, Bethany didn't understand it. But she didn't blame him. As far as she could tell, nothing out of the ordinary was happening to Jupiter City. Not yet, at least. She hadn't even seen the wall of white nothingness here, when she'd seen it in Gwen's world. But it didn't matter if the signs were here yet. If they didn't stop Nobody, the fictional world was going to die. That seemed enough of a reason to fight Nobody.

"So, do you have any powers, like the Avengers? Or are you like Batman and Robin, without any?" Owen asked Orion later on, when they were done talking about Nobody. Given Owen's love for all things superhero, he'd clearly been excited just to talk to Orion. But Bethany wouldn't be surprised if his interest waned off soon, since Orion wasn't the most . . . friendly person.

Orion looked confused. " _Who_ are the Avengers? And who are Batman and Robin?"

"Batman is apparently the greatest superhero of all time," Kiel said.

Owen grinned a little. "Well, yeah. Uh, well, there's a ton of superheroes from different worlds besides yours, and most — like the Avengers — have powers. The difference is that neither Batman or Robin have powers."

Slowly, Orion nodded. "I don't have powers."

"Maybe Charm can give you powers!" Gwen offered, and the boy's eyes widened.

"That's a terrible idea," Bethany whispered, knowing just how badly it'd gone when Charm had given Owen time powers. It might've worked, but she lost her best friend for three years! The only good thing that had come out of that was Bethany's shape-shifting powers, which was incredible in itself.

"We're seeing _Charm_?" Orion almost looked disgusted, making Bethany grin.

"Yep," she said. "The point is to recruit all of our friends, so we'll have a better chance of defeating Nobody. That was Owen's idea, by the way."

"Well, me _and_ Bethany's," Owen said, his face reddening. "It wasn't just mine. We came up with a plan together."

"Still, it was all your idea," she said, not sure why he was even trying to put himself down. She had never really liked his idea, but that was only because she wanted to handle everything herself. As long as they didn't get into _too_ much danger, though, she'd be okay with it. And seeing her friends was a bonus.

"We're going to need Charm, too," she added. "That's where we'll go next, I think." She glanced at Owen, watching his reaction. He didn't looked particularly excited, but he didn't look unhappy, either.

"Charm is from Kiel's world," Owen said, turning his attention to Kiel.

Orion looked at Kiel. "You're friends with Charm?"

Kiel shrugged. "Yeah. I don't think _she'd_ consider me her friend, but we worked together for a year. Saving the world, that kind of thing. I don't think she'll be very happy to see me."

"Why not?" Bethany asked.

He winced. "She's not exactly my biggest fan right now. I might have missed a few scheduled meet-ups."

"You were working on that spell, weren't you?" Gwen said. Kiel nodded. "So you didn't have time to see her. Just tell her the truth, and I'm sure she won't be mad."

"I guess so."

Bethany gave Owen a pointed look, encouraging him to say something. After all, he'd been pretending to be Kiel last time he was with Charm. Her best friend quickly shook his head. She sighed. _Great_. He wasn't going to say anything. One way or another, she knew that Charm would find out that Owen wasn't Kiel. And once that happened, there was no telling how she'd react. It wouldn't be fun to watch, that was for sure.

The group talked for the rest of the train ride until they finally arrived in the area of Jupiter City that Bethany was more familiar with. Following the long line of passengers, they climbed off of the train and walked a few blocks to the Jupiter Hill Observatory. It was just as empty as it was earlier, and with the knowledge that her father was gone, it felt even emptier.

Bethany and Orion entered first, and to her slight annoyance, Orion beat her to the telescope, typing the location of the moon into the computer. The wall behind the telescope disappeared, and they started down the stairs. Bethany flicked on the lights, then followed Orion deeper into the hideout, her friends trailing behind.

Orion glanced around the room, then made a beeline for one of the cabinets and ruffled through it. "Nice to see nothings changed."

"What are you looking for?" Bethany asked, trying to see into the cabinets.

"Something that _won't_ be unreliable," he said, pulling out his Twi-light, a very bright light that'd been helpful during their time under the Dark. Bethany had never had much use for it, since she tried to stay stealthy when fighting supervillians. Of course, staying stealthy never worked on her part.

Glancing around the room, Bethany caught sight of her own Twilight staff and smiled. In her haste, she hadn't noticed it earlier. It could also shrink to the size of a handheld telescope, so it would be easier to carry. She walked over to it and picked it up, curling her fingers around it.

"You're bringing that?" Owen asked, sidling up beside her.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, do you have any other cool superhero weapons I could borrow?" She turned to stare at him, and he slowly grinned. "What?"

"I _know_ why you're doing this," Bethany said, pointing a finger at him. "You'd take any chance you could to be a superhero. This could really be a —"

"Great idea?"

She rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway. "You know what? Here." She went over to a table and handed him a small blow-dart gun. "Go crazy. But _don't_ break it, Owen. I'm warning you!"

"I know! I'll be careful," he said, nodding and placing it in his backpack. Then he added, " _Mom_."

He did _not_ just call her that. Bethany furrowed her brows. "Hey, I'm just trying to watch out for your safety!"

"You _do_ sound like someone's mom," Kiel said, and she hit him on the arm.

From a few feet away, Gwen laughed in a way that normally would've made Bethany laugh too. But under the circumstances, she was annoyed. Even so, she had to hold back a laugh of her own.

Orion walked over to them, his Twilight staff slung across his back. "I would ask you what you're talking about, but then it occurred to me: I don't care."

"Huh. I thought all superheroes cared about everything," Kiel said, raising his eyebrows.

"I care about some things. Not this conversation, though."

"Great," Bethany said sarcastically. She looked around at her friends, who gathered around her. "Um, are you guys ready to go?"

Orion nodded, and Owen spoke up. "I am."

"Me too," Gwen said.

"We're going to my world next, right?" Kiel asked.

"That's the plan," Bethany said.

"Great! It would be very rude if we were going somewhere else, since you said before that we were." He grinned, then winked. "I can't wait for you to see the changes. I've heard Charm's been improving the place, but really, I haven't seen much improvement so far aside from Magisterians using some Quanterium equipment. I guess I'll see when I get there."

"Oh, I can't _wait!_ " Gwen said, breaking out into a grin. "I have a feeling I'm going to like your world. No doubt about it."

Bethany smiled. "I wouldn't be surprised. You like everything. You even like _Orion_ , and no one likes him!"

"Oh, shut up," Orion said, although she could tell he was smiling the slightest bit as the other three laughed. Her smile faded as she remembered the task at hand, and she went over to Owen, opening his backpack and taking out the last Kiel Gnomenfoot book.

"Ready to see Charm?" she asked Owen in a whisper, pulling him aside.

Owen swallowed hard, his eyes on the book in her hands. "Do you really think she'll be there?"

"I guess so. Gwen got back to her own world, so I think Charm is in her's."

He sighed, not saying anything for a few seconds. "I'm not sure about this, Bethany," he said finally, not looking at her. "About any of it. About fighting Nobody, about . . . telling Charm the truth . . . that I'm not Kiel. The more I think about it, the more nervous I get. I feel like I have no idea how to be myself around her. Like I'm embar—" He cut himself off, blushing.

She didn't know what to say, so instead, she offered him a strained smile, knowing exactly how he was feeling. She knew what it was like to feel nervous. She was nervous almost all the time. It was something she'd gotten used to, but that didn't mean it was comfortable. She knew from _Pick The Plot_ that he had a low self-esteem, which wasn't something she could relate to very much. All she could do was help Owen through his problems. It made her angry that she couldn't do more.

Bethany looked up to see that the others were standing nearby, listening to their conversation. She quickly opened the book, setting it on the ground. Since her friends already knew the procedure, they grabbed hold of each other's hands (although it took some convincing to make Orion hold anyone's).

Reminding herself that this would all work out eventually, that she'd find her father and defeat Nobody no matter what, she willed herself to jump them into the book. Her hands shook slightly as she leapt into _Kiel Gnomenfoot and the Source Of Magic,_ only to land face-first on the ground. The force wracked through her body, spreading pain throughout it.

Bethany groaned as she released her grip on her friends, who all seemed just as shocked as her. She slowly picked herself off the ground, being the first to do so. That had _never_ happened before. Not in all her years of book-jumping had she landed straight on the ground. Her eyes adjusted to the world that was Quanterium, and she froze, cold fear going through her. What she saw was a group of Science Police, their guns all pointed directly at them.

* * *

 _"_ _It's time to rise up from the shadows. Rise up from the shadows . . ."_


	29. Owen's Confession

_**Let's Hurt Tonight (by Michael Lynch)**_

 _"_ _So I'll get the lights and you lock the doors. We ain't leaving this room 'til we both feel more . . ."_

* * *

The sound of lasers sizzling through the air was what Owen opened his eyes to, mere seconds after they jumped into _Kiel Gnomenfoot and the Source of Magic_. He was laying face-down on the ground, his broken arm screaming in pain from the impact, when suddenly, an all-too-familiar sound went through the air. A sound he hadn't heard since he was last in a Kiel Gnomenfoot book, which always sent a shiver down his spine. His eyes widened.

 _Science Police_.

He heard his friends shouting, and he quickly lifted himself off the ground, almost stumbling over his own feet. He barely had time to look at his surroundings or dodge the lasers before he was shoved out of the way, and he landed back on the ground, crashing into a hallway. He groaned, then looked behind him to see Orion, who'd been the one to push him out of the way.

"T-Thanks," Owen said lamely, getting into a sitting position. He was shaking all over, and his robotic heart was racing a mile a minute. All he could hear was the heavy footsteps of the Science Police, and their lasers, which flew through the air faster than Owen could see.

Orion didn't respond, and instead led them hastily over to a podium just as more lasers came flying in their direction. Owen pressed himself against the podium, hoping it'd provide at least a little bit of protection. His breathing got more shaky, and he looked around for the others. At the end of the long hallway, he thought he might've seen Kiel, but he couldn't tell from this far away. That worried him more, but with the lasers on all sides of him, there was no way he could go out and look for them.

They were in a building much like the one Dr. Verity owned, but as far as Owen could tell, it wasn't the same exact one. There were several rooms that branched off from the hallway they were in, which all were dedicated to science. Of all the places that they could've landed, this was the _worst_ place to be.

" _What has Bethany dragged me into_?" Orion grumbled, more to himself than to Owen. He glanced at Owen, taking out his Twilight Staff. "Stay here, and don't move," he instructed. He started to move, but Owen grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Wait!" Owen cried. "These are Science Police robots. Their lasers can kill you, and they're —"

"I've had years of fighting experience," Orion said, yanking Owen's hand off of him. "I _know_ I can handle a few robots." Then he lifted his Twilight staff and stood up, edging around the podium. He quickly whacked his staff a few times into something that Owen couldn't see, then sprinted off out of Owen's view. He heard crashing noises, which blended together with the sounds of the Science Police and lasers.

He sighed, slumping back against the podium. Too bad he didn't have Spider-Man's spider-sense, where he'd get warned before danger. That would be helpful, especially in a situation like this! He'd only been in the fictional world for a couple of hours and he was already being thrown into danger at every turn. He had expected that, but not for Science Police to show up as soon as they jumped into the Kiel Gnomenfoot book!

Last time Owen had checked, the Science Police supposedly turned good after the war between Magisteria and Quanterium. Why were the Science Police attacking them, and why were there so many? They were still defending Quanterium at this point, but it wasn't like Owen and his friends had been attacking them. Owen could only assume that it was because Kiel was with them, but the whole situation was still confusing.

As he sat there without anything to do, Owen was reminded how useless he was against anyone fictional. He wasn't a hero and never would be, not even with his time powers. He was just _too_ normal and _too_ average, and everyone knew it. What chance did he have here? He wasn't even the sidekick in this scenario. He was a bystander, being forced to hide instead of fight because he couldn't win against the Science Police if he tried.

Last time he fought the Science Police had been with Kiel's magic, back when he was living out Kiel's final adventure in the seventh book. Magic had made things so easy and effortless, and Owen loved every second that he'd been able to use it. But he didn't have magic here, which was the Science Soldier's ultimate weakness. Kiel did, so at least _he'd_ be able to use magic on them. He was the magician, not Owen.

Somewhere behind him, he heard Gwen's voice, followed by Bethany's and then Kiel's. From the noises behind him, he could assume that his friends were fighting the robots. He felt useless for just sitting here with a broken arm and a backpack on his shoulders. He needed a way to fight them. He remembered that he had a blow-dart gun in his backpack, but that was only useful on _real_ people, not robots.

Could he break into a computer and rewire the robots somehow? Or could he trip them? Or would the blow-darts work on them, despite them being robots? Or (this was a long shot) could he throw the last book in his backpack (the Kara Dox book) at the robots, knocking them over? Okay, _that_ was unrealistic and not likely at all. Who was he kidding? None of that would work!

Remembering the Kara Dox book made him think about Kara, and he remembered suddenly how much he missed her. So much had happened since he last saw her, and he felt a bit guilty that he hadn't really thought about her lately. He hadn't seen her in . . . how many days? He'd almost lost track of time, but he was pretty sure that he'd been in the nonfictional world for almost three weeks. He needed to see her again, if that was even possible.

A laser beam to strike the floor at his feet, jolting him from his daydreams. His heart leapt in his throat. He quickly wiped Kara from his mind, pressing himself closer against the podium. He had to focus, not get distracted! He yelped as another beam struck the floor, then scrambled to his feet, his entire body shaking from fear and adrenaline.

Owen broke out into a cold sweat as the footsteps of the Science Police came closer. He frantically looked around, trying to think of something. There was nowhere to run. There were lasers on all sides of him, and any second now, the Science Police robots would arrive. Although his friends had been fighting them for the past couple of minutes, it was clear that they were definitely outnumbered.

He couldn't stay here any longer. If he stayed, he'd be hit by the lasers, which could be deadly. Most lasers could only stun a person, but given that these were Science Police, Owen could guess that the lasers could do a lot more than stun. Either way, it wouldn't be good if he got hit with one. He had to get out of here right away. He had to do something to fight back against the robots and help his friends! But what?

As his imagination conjured over all of the impossible things he could do, Owen's heart began to beat so quickly that he started to worry it would collapse. He put a hand over it, wondering why it was racing so fast, only for the realization to slap him in the face. His time powers! In the midst of the chaos, he'd forgotten all about them. That could work, at least to help him get somewhere safer. But what use would they be here?

Owen glanced over at the lasers, which were now suspended in midair. Unfortunately, since the lasers were still moving at the speed of light, they were moving very slowly. But it was more manageable than the speed they'd been at before, which meant that be able to sneak past them without getting hit. He broke out into a grin. Maybe he wasn't _so_ useless after all!

Ducking low, he walked out into the line of fire, being careful to dodge around the lasers. He didn't want to know what would happen if he touched them, so he avoided them at all costs. Once he got past the majority of them, he walked over to the Science Police robots that had been shooting at him. Unlike the lasers, they were completely frozen in time.

As hard as he could, Owen kicked the one nearest him. It was heavy, but he managed to make it wobble the slightest bit. Before the robot could return back to its original position, Owen kicked it again, and it toppled onto the robot next to it, which caused _that_ robot to fall into the robot beside it. All three fell to the ground, some of their metal parts breaking from the impact.

"Oh no, did you trip?" Owen shouted, grinning at he stared down at the fallen robots. "I bet that hurt! How does it feel?"

Then, his feeling of victory was dimmed as he glanced around at the tons of Science Police around them. There weren't as many as he thought; maybe fifty at the most. A lot of them were on the ground, fully destroyed, while others were in the middle of fighting his friends or shooting lasers at them. It was still a lot, though. Too many for four teenagers — plus Owen — to take on.

Orion was closest to him, his arm positioned to throw a Twilight throwing star at one of the robots. Using her jetpack, Gwen was flying through the air, looking like she was trying to dodge the lasers that flew at her. Bethany was fighting a robot, her ponytail whipping around her as she kicked it in the chest. As for Kiel, he'd somehow ended up on the ground, his wand-knives digging into a Science Police robot.

Owen stared at his friends, marveling over how cool they looked while time was frozen. It was annoying that he couldn't be helpful in an actual fight. His time powers were the only thing that made him useful, but when it came to fighting with a weapon, Owen had almost no experience. If only he didn't have a broken arm, he could at least wield a sword or another weapon of his own.

He tore himself out of his thoughts, not wanting to waste any more time than he had to. He got to work, shoving as many Science Police as he could muster to the ground. It was hard given his broken arm and his lack of physical strength, but his adrenaline and determination pushed him forward. There was nothing else he could do besides this, so knocking the Science Police over was the best option for now.

Once he'd finished shoving as many as he could to the ground, Owen went to a new hiding place where there weren't any Science Police around, giving him a chance to watch what his friends were doing. His heart was still racing, enough to make it almost painful. It'd been maybe thirty minutes, and he'd become tired from using his time powers. Taking a deep breath, he started to ease his hold on time, only for an incredible idea to pop into his head.

What if his time powers could let him do more than just freeze time? With her magical glove, the Countess had had her own kind of time powers. She'd had the ability to speed up a person's own time, simply by touching them with her glove. Could Owen do something like that to the Science Police? Would it even work?

Turning his gaze to a cluster of Science Police, Owen took a deep breath, the sound of his heart pounding being the only thing he heard. Stretching his palm out, he pushed his powers outward, away from his body and into the bodies of the robots. His chest tightened in pain, but he ignored it, letting his imagination run wild. He imagined time speeding up thousands of years only for the robots, making them too old and rusted to perform any tasks.

As he willed it to happen, he heard creaking noises, and saw the robots begin to grow rusted. _Finally_. Yes, it was working! For once, he were being useful for something. He tried to smile in triumph, then gasped as more pain went through his body. But he had to keep going. He couldn't give up now. Not when he was so close! There were tons of Science Police everywhere. He had to do something to help his friends, because there was no way they could fight all of them at once.

Owen's entire body shook as continued to will his powers forward, concentrating hard so he wouldn't accidentally hurt his friends. His raised hand trembled, but he forced it upright, since it seemed to help direct his power. He focused on the Science Police, imagining that they'd become so old that they wouldn't work properly anymore. His eyes glazed over, and he nearly stumbled as his chest rocketed with pain, and black began to appear at the edges of his vision.

He gasped again, dropping his hand to press it against his chest, where his heart was racing out of control. It was hard to think now. He couldn't understand why he was in so much pain. Weakly, he glanced up at the Science Police, who had become much more rusted than before. He had to finish this.

For once, he needed to be the hero that everyone looked up to. That was all Owen had ever wanted. He would pay everything he had just to be the hero of his own story for once, not the sidekick that no one cared about. He didn't want to mess things up anymore. All he wanted was for his friends to be proud of him.

With one last look at his frozen friends, Owen made his decision. He willed his powers forward again, imagining that each Science Police robot would age until they couldn't work as he speeded up their own time. But before even five seconds passed, the blackness returned to his vision, and he lost all awareness of his surroundings. Owen barely remembered falling backwards as the world dissolved around him. He tumbled to the ground, and everything went black.

* * *

"Owen!"

"Owen, are you okay?"

"I told him to hide like, ten minutes ago! What happened to him?"

"Oh no . . ."

"Owen, wake up!" a girl's voice shouted, and Owen slowly opened his eyes, wondering why everything was so echoey and loud. Everything was blurry, and he felt so exhausted that he couldn't make sense of anything. His entire body hurt, especially his chest. His heart itself felt like it was in enormous pain.

As he took a slow, deep breath, the pain lessened slightly. He crinkled his eyebrows, barely able to make out the blurry forms standing around him. Was he on the ground? Owen set his gaze on the person kneeling at his side, then blinked a few times, focusing on the person's long bronze hair. "B . . . Bethany?"

His best friend sighed in relief, and he saw the others do the same. "I'm so glad you're okay. _Never_ do that again!"

Owen blinked again, and his vision slowly returning. Now, he could make out the worried expressions on his friends' faces. "What . . . huh?" he whispered, too tired to say much of anything else. He struggled to sit up, but the world spun around him, and Bethany gently pushed him back down.

"Just rest for a second," she said. "We have time."

Owen lifted his head, before groaning and setting it back down. He was too dizzy and exhausted to move, or even think. "But . . . Science Police?"

"Oh, yeah, that was awesome," Kiel said, smiling at him. "Was that you who turned all of them into rust? That was incredible. They all stopped working!" Weakly, Owen nodded, feeling a rush of pride go through him.

"He risked his _life_ for us!" Bethany snapped, whipping her head around to look at him. "He didn't need to do that."

Orion nodded in agreement, his arms crossed. "He didn't. What he _should've_ been doing was hiding, like I told him to." He gave Owen a hard look, who only smiled back. Orion sighed heavily. "Never-mind."

"It's what . . . Kiel . . . would do . . ." Owen said quietly, and the boy magician only stared at him, a small frown on his face.

"You're right," Kiel said. "I would've done that. It's really impressive that you were able to kill all of them, but we also could've handled it as a group. I mean, I'm much more impressive all on my own, but those were a _lot_ of Science Police. It takes a lot of energy to do all of that on your own."

"Wanted to be . . . a hero," Owen whispered, this time only quiet enough for himself to hear. Bethany stared at him, and he looked away, feeling embarrassed without really knowing why. Couldn't she be happy for him? Why did she have to act like he'd done a bad thing? He'd saved his friends — actually _saved_ them! That was enough to make Owen feel happy about what he'd done.

"I was so worried about you," Gwen said, kneeling beside him. She rubbed the back of his hand. "You did really great!"

He automatically smiled, soaking in the praise. He might've almost died, but hearing approval from his friends made it worthwhile. Even if it was only for a few minutes. "Thanks, Gwen."

"No problem." She grinned. "You saved us."

"I can carry your backpack," Bethany offered, and before Owen could protest, she took it from underneath him, making the ground feel a bit less bulky. Then, she unzipped it and handed him one of the plastic water bottles that he'd brought, which he drank right away.

"So, what did you do to the Science Police?" Bethany asked when he was done, taking his water bottle back and sliding it into the backpack again.

"I used my time powers," Owen said slowly, as the memories from his fight against the Science Police came rushing back to him. He slowly began to sit up, and this time, no one moved to stop him. "I thought that I could only freeze time, but then I wondered if I could speed up or slow down someone else's time. The Countess had that power, so I thought that maybe . . . I could do it too. I tried speeding up the time of the Science Police until they were too old to work anymore. And it worked! I didn't even know I could _do_ that."

Just to make sure it had actually happened, Owen looked over, and surely enough every single Science Police robot was on the ground, their metal bodies turned into rust. He still couldn't wrap his head around it — to know that his _powers_ had done that, and that he'd managed to save everyone without messing up for once. It didn't seem real.

"Wow," Kiel said, leaning down and grabbing Owen's hand, helping him to his feet. "I didn't either. I can't believe that happened. That's incredible. It's almost like magic, but without any spells."

"It's called having superpowers," Orion said dryly.

"Same difference."

"No, it's not. They're two completely different things."

"My time powers _are_ superpowers," Owen said, hoping that his friends weren't about to start a fight for no reason. He glanced at Kiel, grinning a bit. "But it did seem a lot like magic when I used it on the Science Police. I'm just glad I was able to discover more about my powers. I wouldn't have been able to if I hadn't tried using them on the robots."

He meant it, too. If he hadn't come up with the idea to speed up the Science Police's time, he wouldn't have unlocked a completely new side to his powers that he never even knew about before. It was exciting, but it was also scary to know that he could speed up and slow down someone else's time. What if he accidentally did that to a person? He shuddered at the thought, not wanting to even think about it.

The group turned to look back over at the fallen Science Police, and Bethany stood up, brushing off her pants. "Let's get out of here. Kiel, do you think any more Science Police would be here?"

"I doubt it," Kiel said. "With the amount there were here, it looks like that was all of them."

"Maybe not all," Orion said, his voice low. "There could always be more."

"I hope not," Bethany muttered, running a hand through her hair. "I really don't want to go through that again. That was _way_ too many Science Police."

"I think that was all of them," Gwen said. "Want me to check? I can fly around on my jetpack and look for more."

"That's okay," Bethany said, waving her off as she put Owen's backpack over her own shoulders. "You don't need to do that. Let's just go. We need to find Charm as soon as possible." She swallowed hard. "And my father. I'm not going to leave him again. He needs my help."

" _Our_ help," Orion corrected.

Owen nodded, glancing at Bethany to see that a shadow had passed over her face at the reminder of her missing father. "We'll get him, I _promise_!" he told her. "We'll rescue him once we actually face Nobody. But we can't do anything for him yet. For now we just need to find the rest of our friends before we do anything else."

Orion grumbled something, not looking too happy about that. Owen felt bad that they weren't going to fight Nobody and find Bethany's father right away, but they did need to get the rest of their friends first if they could even stand a chance against him. That was how it worked in superhero comics and fantasy books. It was easier to fight as a group.

He wanted to rescue Bethany's father as much as they did, but unfortunately it would have to wait until they found Charm and Kara, their last remaining friends. Owen didn't have a clue where Nobody and Doc Twilight could be, anyway. It was easier to get their friends together, make up an unbeatable plan, and then fight Nobody as a team. He was sure that they'd win this time, and hopefully they would save Bethany's father, too.

"Charm might be on her spaceship," Kiel said, changing the subject. "That's where my first guess would be. Or anywhere on Quanterium, really."

"Let's go find her spaceship, then," Bethany said, sounding slightly annoyed.

"That's the problem. I'm not sure where her spaceship _is_ ," the boy magician pointed out. "But the good news is that we're already on Quanterium, so finding her shouldn't be too hard. If she's not in her spaceship, then she's probably in one of the science centers or in the president building."

"So in other words, you have no idea where she is," Orion stated. " _Great_."

"I have _some_ ideas where she is, just not anywhere specific."

"Maybe we should look for her spaceship first, then?" Gwen suggested.

"Probably." Kiel shrugged. "That would be the best direction to take for now."

"Then let's _go_ there," Bethany said impatiently. She started walking down the hallway, and the rest of the group followed. "Or to whatever science building you mentioned. I don't care _where_ she is, but we have to find her."

"We will," Owen said, a bit confused why Bethany was acting so annoyed all of the sudden. This wasn't uncommon for her, but it was still weird, especially after he'd saved their lives. "We know where she _could_ be, which is at least getting us somewhere. Kiel knows more about Charm than anyone, including where she spends most of her time. Right?" He looked at Kiel, who nodded.

"We should be able to find her soon," Kiel said as he walked beside Owen. "And if we don't, she'll probably find _me_. She's always been good at tracking me down. Just not within the past three years, because I'm better at hiding." He chuckled.

Owen smiled. Then the idea of seeing Charm again fully sunk in, and his smile faded. As excited as he'd been to see her, he was growing more and more nervous as time went on. And it wasn't just because of her demeanor, which was hardly friendly at all. As much as he'd missed her, he always felt guilty and nervous every time he thought of her.

Sometime in the past week, it had dawned on him that he'd have to tell Charm the truth. Once she saw him and Kiel together . . . there'd be no denying it. Owen wouldn't be able to hide behind a facade anymore, even if it made himself feel more confident than he actually was. He had no idea what he would say when he saw her again, but he knew was done pretending to be Kiel.

He was done with lying. He didn't know how Bethany did it all those years, lying to her mother about jumping into books. Every time he lied, it felt like he was sinking farther into quicksand, unable to pull himself out. He felt bad about pretending to be someone he wasn't, even if that 'someone' was Kiel Gnomenfoot, who he aspired to be even now. Charm was his friend. He had to tell her the truth about what had really happened, or else he'd regret it forever.

Somehow, Owen had to tell her the truth. But the thought of telling her everything made him want to curl into a ball. It was hard just to imagine it. What if it all went badly? Would she get mad, or would she accept it? It didn't really matter. He had to say it anyway. He could only hope that things would go well once he told her. Maybe she would understand, and maybe she would forgive him for the actions of his past self. It didn't hurt to be optimistic.

While Owen thought over this, he and his friends made their way down the maze of hallways until they found the exit, which turned out to be a pair of double glass doors. He still felt exhausted from using his time powers, but he was already feeling much better than he had a few minutes ago. After a good night's rest, he'd feel even better, though he doubted he'd be getting much sleep anytime soon.

All of the sudden, Orion stopped in his tracks, making Owen nearly slam right into him. He paused, holding up a hand for them to be quiet. "Hear that?"

"What—" Owen started to ask, but Orion shushed him. Their group went quiet, listening for what Orion had heard. Owen strained his ears, and very faintly, he could detect the sounds of robotic voices and metal clanking on the ground. Uh oh. _More_ Science Police?

" _That_ doesn't sound good," Bethany whispered, her eyes wide.

"Okay. Yep, there's more Science Police," Kiel said under his breath, cringing. "This is certainly going to be a problem." Orion glanced at him with a single nod before turning to look back at the hallway in front of them.

Owen's eyes widened. "What are we gonna do?"

"I thought that was all of them," Gwen said in a quiet voice.

"Me too," Bethany breathed, her body completely still.

"Well . . . let's try to be positive about this. I'm sure we can figure something out. It'll be fine. Maybe they won't attack us?"

"Did you _not_ see what just happened in there?" Orion hissed, whipping his head around. "They'll attack us no matter what. We need to get out of here before we're all killed."

"I agree," Owen said, feeling too tired to get thrown into another fight. How were there more Science Police already? This place must be swarming with them, because he hadn't even seen a real Quanterium person yet. Orion was right. They had to get out of here right away.

"You guys go ahead," Kiel said, pulling out his wand-knives as the sounds of the Science Police got closer. He winked at them. "I can hold them off."

" _Wait a minute_ —" Orion began.

"What?" Bethany demanded. "Kiel, we couldn't handle that many before!"

"Yes, but I've fought the Science Police tons of times," Kiel said. "They can't handle my magic."

She rolled her eyes. "You aren't doing that. That's a really bad idea, and it wouldn't work anyway. There's too many of them."

"If we're gonna go, we need to go now, guys. They're gonna be here any second!" Owen said, nervously looking down the hallway. From what he could hear, the Science Police were coming closer. They'd come down the hallway any second now, and he really didn't want to be here when that happened.

"Owen's right," Gwen insisted. "Come on, we can still get out through one of the doors! I'm sure the exit is somewhere around here."

"We'll have to go back that way," Bethany said, pointing behind them. "Maybe there's a door back there?"

Orion sighed. "If there was a door back there don't you think I would've seen it?"

"You could've missed it."

"No, I wouldn't have," he shot back. "Because unlike the rest of you, I've actually been paying attention to where we're going."

Gwen frowned. "That's not nice, Orion."

"Are you kidding?" Bethany huffed, glaring at her father's sidekick. "I've been paying attention, too! I've only seen a bunch of rooms with science equipment in them, but we could've missed something."

"I think Bethany's right: we need to go back the way we came," Kiel said, glancing back towards the direction of the Science Police. "Hopefully we'll find a way out there. I don't think we have a choice, since the Science Police are coming from this way." He bit his lip. "Although, I didn't see an exit door either."

"Really?" Orion deadpanned. "So we're trapped here, then. _Perfect_." He sighed. "Guess we'll have to start searching for that door that I apparently missed." He glared at his adopted sister.

"I don't care who saw a door!" Owen said, his voice unexpectedly squeaking. He blushed, but he quickly played it off, trying to pretend that never happened. "Stop arguing! We have to go before _more_ Science Police come! We just have to get out of here!"

"Exactly. Arguing won't get us anywhere," Kiel said, leading them back the way they came. "Come on!" Only able to focus on the footsteps of the Science Police, Owen followed his friends down the hallway, his heart still filled with a small amount of pain.

Behind them, the metallic footsteps grew closer, and a robotic voice said, "HEAT SIGNATURES DETECTED. VOICE RECOGNITION DOES NOT MATCH ANY KNOWN QUANTERIANS. DEFENSE MEASURES INITIATED."

Owen cringed, sneaking a glance behind him. He didn't see anything yet, but the Science Police definitely we're getting very close. If they didn't find an exit soon they'd be caught for sure.

They reentered the large room where they'd fought with the Science Police, and Owen looked wildly around. It was a dead-end, and the only place to go was through the hallway they'd come from. This couldn't be happening! He was about to say to his friends that he didn't see an exit, when suddenly, something caught his eye from next to where they were standing.

"I have an idea," he said, walking over to an air-vent that looked large enough for each of them to climb through. He'd seen this done tons of times in movies, and this _was_ the fictional world, so it would have to work. The air-vent was secured by several screws. "Does anyone know how to open it?"

Orion smirked. "Of course I do. I've crawled through air-vents countless times when I fought supervillians." He crouched down, then retrieved a piece of wire from his pocket and carefully unscrewed it. Once the screws were off, he put his hands on either side of the air-vent and lifted the heavy hinge from the wall. Kicking the hinge to the side, he climbed into the air-vent with ease, making Owen wonder how many times he'd done this.

"Do all Earthers do this?" Gwen asked, looking puzzled yet excited all the same. When Owen only gave her a confused look, she said, "I mean, is this an Earth thing to do?"

In spite of the situation, Owen grinned a little. "Kind of. I've always wanted to do this."

He watched as Orion crawled out of sight, only for Gwen to climb in right after him, flashing a smile back at them before she continued on her way. Owen glanced at Bethany, who didn't look thrilled at all about the idea, then at Kiel, who looked excited at the idea of danger. As soon as Gwen was farther down the air-vent, the boy magician climbed in after Gwen, a casual grin on his face.

Down the hallway, the robotic voices grew louder, and Owen realized that they were just around the corner. He and Bethany shared an uneasy look, and she said, "You go first."

"No," he said, hastily shaking his head. " _You_ go. If they attack, I can use my time powers."

" _Owen_." She groaned. "You fainted the last time you used them! I'm not gonna let you almost kill yourself again."

"What?" Owen asked. "Bethany, I'm not going to kill myself! I'd be fine!" She didn't say anything, and instead continued to glare at him. He frowned. "Are you mad at me?"

"No." Bethany paused, but the irritated expression on her face was still there. "Why would you think that?"

". . . Because you're acting like you're mad?"

" _I'm not_."

"It seems like you are," he said. "Is this because I used my time powers? I'm sorry — I really am — if I did something to make you mad, but I . . . I just wanted to be a hero. I wanted to save everyone."

She furrowed her brows, staring at him. "You didn't _need_ to prove yourself to anyone, Owen. You already are a hero, okay? You keep doubting yourself, and sometimes I wish you'd stop." She sighed. "I'm not _mad_. I'm just frustrated that you had to almost kill yourself to save everyone! Don't you get that you could've seriously injured yourself even more?"

"Yeah . . . I-I know," Owen replied, lowering his head. "But Kiel does it all the time. Why am I any different?"

"Because you aren't—" She cut herself off. "You're my best friend. Kiel's, well, _Kiel_ , and he's been running straight into danger all his life without getting hurt. You're—"

"Useless," he finished.

"What? That is _not_ what I was going to say," Bethany said. "We're in Kiel's book series now, and you can easily get hurt. But just so you know, you're just as much as a hero as me _and_ Kiel are. And you don't need to sacrifice yourself to prove you're something that you already are, okay?"

"Okay, yeah. You're right," he said, not knowing what else to say. What _could_ he say? That he didn't believe her? That he was sorry for scaring her, but that didn't change the fact that he still wanted to be a hero? That he still wanted to be more like Kiel? "I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," Bethany said, shaking her head. "It doesn't really matter anymore. You did great, by the way. Using your time powers like that."

"Really?" He smiled at that, and she gave him a small smile back. A noise made them both jump, and Owen looked up just as a cluster of Science Police came running into the room, their ray guns lifted towards them. A laser whizzed past Owen's ear, and he gasped. He barely had time to dodge another laser before Bethany yanked him to the ground, practically shoving him into the air-vent.

"Get in!" she shouted.

"I know! Got it!" Owen shouted back, his heart racing. He climbed into the air-vent, which proved harder than he thought it would be, especially because of his broken arm. Using one hand and both his feet, Owen crawled as quickly as he could down the air-vent. Behind him, he heard Bethany climbing into the air-vent, so he sped up.

Somewhere down the tunnel, he heard the hushed voices of Orion, Gwen, and Kiel. They were too far away for him to hear what they were saying, which made him wonder just how long he'd have to keep crawling in here. The air-vent was only wide enough for one person to crawl through, and he couldn't lift his head without hitting it on the ceiling.

"You okay?" he called back to Bethany, who was breathing heavily.

"Yeah," she grunted. "Just didn't think I'd be _climbing through an air-vent_."

"This is kinda cool, though, isn't it?" he said, although he felt just as uncomfortable. "It makes me feel like I'm in a movie."

She laughed breathlessly. "Of _course_ you'd say that. I should've expected you only wanted to do this because of some random superhero movie that this happened in."

" _Hey!_ It's not just about that. It's a good idea, and I didn't see any other exits!"

"I didn't either," Bethany muttered. "I just hope we'll be out of here soon. It feels so cramped in here." She sounded anxious, Owen realized.

"We'll be out of here soon. This air-vent can't go on forever," he assured her, but the air-vent was dark, and he wasn't even sure if he believed himself.

Bethany didn't respond, so Owen instead tried to focus on the path in front of him. As exciting as the idea of crawling through an air-vent was, actually doing it was entirely different. The tunnel seemed to go on forever, and if it wasn't for his friends voices up ahead he wouldn't have known which direction to turn. He didn't want to imagine what would happen if he got lost here. It wasn't a nice thought.

They crawled along the dark air-vents for about fifteen minutes in silence, and Owen's excitement about crawling inside an air-vent had vanished. Now, he only felt tired, and his hope was dwindling. He felt cramped, and his back was slightly sore from being hunched over for so long. His broken arm throbbed with pain each time he hit it against the ground, making him wince every time it happened.

He was growing tired again, especially since the air-vent seemed to go on for miles. Maybe this hadn't been a good decision. What if the air-vents went on forever, and he and his friends would never make it out? They'd blame him, just like they'd done time and time again, and just like Owen did to himself. Once again, he would've messed everything up. It would be his fault. _Again_.

Owen turned the next corner, guided by his friends' voices up ahead. Soon after that, a light appeared up ahead, and he felt hope blossom in his chest. His heart began to race, this time from excitement. Was this their way out?

"Kiel!" he shouted. "Gwen, Orion! Do you guys see an exit up there?"

"Yeah! Keep moving, and you'll see it. It's on the right!" Kiel shouted back, his voice far away as it echoed across the air-vent.

"What's going on?" Bethany asked.

"They found an exit!" Owen exclaimed, a smile on his face. That got both of them moving faster, and despite the tight space and the stiffness of his body, Owen was more hopeful than ever. He moved with renewed determination as the light in front of him gradually got brighter. He crawled through the tunnel as fast as he could, trying to ignore the painful ache of his arm.

He and Bethany followed the direction of the light, until finally, they reached the exit that Kiel had told them about. They came across a bend to the right, and as Owen turned the corner, he saw a hole leading out to the streets of Quanterium. Breaking out into a grin, Owen crawled the rest of the way towards it and pushed himself out, spilling out onto the sidewalk.

He glanced up to see Kiel, Orion, and Gwen standing above him, waiting for them. Gwen was gazing up at the buildings, amazement on her face. "Wow, its so beautiful here!"

"Eh, I think Magisteria looks a lot better," Kiel said, shrugging a little. "That's where I live. But I bet once Charm does more renovations, it'll look much better."

Getting to his feet, Owen stood up, dusting his clothes off. "I can't believe that _worked_. We made it!"

A moment later, Bethany came into view. Grunting, she pushed herself out of the air-vent and stood up. She shuddered, brushing off her clothes, which had dust all over them. "Ugh. I really hope I never have to do that again."

"Me neither," Owen muttered. "That felt like it was going on for hours."

Out of nowhere, she grinned at him, her anger from before faded away. "What happened to 'I've always wanted to do this', Owen Conners? Didn't you say that like twenty minutes ago?"

He opened and closed his mouth, his face reddening. "Well, that was before I did it. I changed my mind. And you didn't like it anymore than I did. I don't think anyone did."

"It wasn't a problem for me," Orion said, smirking at them.

Bethany rolled her eyes. "Easy for _you_ to say. You've done it tons of times."

"Yeah!" Owen added. "You're a superhero, so you're used to this."

"Hey, I'm not a superhero, and it wasn't _that_ bad," Kiel said, flashing a wink at them.

"I thought it was fun," Gwen spoke up. "I love the new experiences! They just make me _so happy_."

Owen had to smile at that. Gwen really was a great person to have around, and he already found himself feeling more optimistic about what he'd just gone through. Meanwhile, Orion said nothing, looking completely done with everything. It seemed that Gwen's optimism did the exact opposite on Orion's part.

Kiel pointed a finger at Gwen. "I like you, Gwen. You're fun!"

"And I'm not?" Bethany asked, raising her eyebrows.

He only laughed.

They started walking deeper into the city, keeping their distance from the Science Police with the hope that they wouldn't be attacked again. Owen took a moment to look around Quanterium, which looked different from the first time he'd seen it. Aside from the unexpected attack they'd just went through, the planet seemed more peaceful than it used to be. Instead of robotic machines, real people were walking around, both Magisterians and Quanterians.

"Wow, things really _have_ changed," Owen observed. "The two planets used to be at war with each other, and now they seem to be coexisting. Magisterians are here too?"

"Looks like it," Kiel said. "I haven't visited Quanterium in a few years, but I saw the changes on Magisteria, too. Things aren't perfect yet, but they're headed there. Charm was elected as Quanterium's president recently, too. At least, that's what I heard."

"I remember," Owen said, recalling Charm's presidential speech during the epilogue of _Kiel Gnomenfoot and the Source Of Magic_. "But since this is three years later, why did the Science Police attack us? And why were there so many?"

Kiel frowned. "I'm not sure. I mean, according to the Science Police, I'm still considered a criminal, so that could've been why they attacked us. They've attacked me even _after_ the war ended. But I don't know why there were so many in one place. There's also a chance that security has been increasing." He shrugged. "I don't know. But we should be safe now, as long as we don't run into anymore Science Police."

"Why did the Science Police want to attack you?" Gwen asked him, looking concerned. "You don't seem threatening to me. You're really nice."

Kiel grinned. "Thanks. I've just had a bad reputation with the Science Police, I guess. I was on Magisteria's side during the war, and I became pretty well known given how awesome I am."

"And now that the war is over, they still want to attack you? That seems wrong."

"It's okay," he said. "I'm used to it, really! I've never liked the Science Police, and they've never been a fan of me either. I'm not gonna complain about it. I'm just happy that Quanterium and Magisteria have been friendlier to each other."

Bethany looked concerned, and opened her mouth to say something, but Orion cut her off. "Hey, where's Charm's spaceship? Are we even going the right way?"

"Of course," Kiel said with a wink as he led them through the crowds, navigating through them as if he'd been here a hundred times, which he definitely had. "We're heading to the Presidential Palace first, just to check if Charm's there. If she's not, we'll look for her spaceship."

The city grew more crowded and elaborate as they soon approached the Presidential Palace, where Owen had been captured by Dr. Verity when he was disguised as Kiel. When Owen had last seen the palace, it'd been surrounding by Science Soldier armies. Now, it was much less threatening (although a few Science Police were walking around, who they managed to avoid).

The five of them climbed the steps and stopped at the palace's entrance. Owen quickly looked around at the crowd below, feeling more nervous as time went on. Would Charm be here? Would she not? Would she be happy to see him? There were endless ways that this could go, and it made his stomach twist into a knot.

"Um, are we going inside?" Bethany asked, tapping Kiel's arm.

"Yeah, Beth," Kiel replied softly. "Just checking if any more Science Police are nearby."

Flashing her a smile, he pulled open the large door of the Presidential Palace, holding it open for them to walk through. Owen walked inside first, and his mouth dropped open as he gazed around at the inside of the palace, which was more beautiful than he'd ever seen it. All of the sudden, someone bumped into him hard, and he shouted in surprise as he fell to the ground.

"Owen!" Bethany shouted, moving to help him up. Muttering an apology, Owen got up as quickly as he could, blushing hard. But then, he stared at the person he'd bumped into, and his brain stopped working.

Charm was standing in front of him, looking just as Owen remembered with her red robotic eye, robotic parts covering half her body, and a robotic arm and leg. Faster than Owen could react, Gwen went forward and threw her arms around Charm, hugging her. "Charm! It's so nice to see you!"

Charm looked mostly confused, but nonetheless, a faint smile came to her face. "Gwen?" She glanced at Bethany. "Bethany? Glad to see you turned back from a beam of light. I was planning on helping with that, but I was sent back to my planet by _Nobody_ and well, a lot happened."

"Wait, you know Nobody?" Bethany asked, her eyebrows shooting up. "That's what we came to find you for. We're recruiting people to fight him."

Charm was about to respond, but then, she glanced at Owen and Kiel, and her eyes widened in shock. A red grid briefly passed over her eyes, and she glared at Owen. "Wait, Kiel? You're back?" Then she looked at Kiel, and she looked more confused than ever. " _Two_ Kiel's? What's going on?"

"Oh, um, hi." Owen smiled awkwardly, too distracted at the sight of her to listen to a word she'd just said. Should he grab her hand? Pat her shoulder? Hug her? Every option seemed unreasonably terrifying, but given the expression on her face, it didn't seem like the right time. "Sorry, I was distracted for a second. Can you repeat whatever you just said?"

"I said, _what's going_ _on_?" Charm demanded. "I just got alerted a few minutes ago that the robotic heart I gave him finally showed up on Quanterium right around here. And I've been looking for Kiel for years, trying to find out wherever he went missing!"

Kiel cringed. "Sorry about that. You know, I did have a good reason for it."

The half-robotic stared at Kiel, then pointed at Owen, narrowing her eyes. "And last time I checked, you, _Kiel_ , disguised yourself. But now I'm not sure if that's true, because the regular Kiel is also right here."

"No one is like me," Kiel said, looking confused. "My awesomeness is very unique."

"Would someone care to explain what's going on before I start ray-gunning everyone?" Charm demanded. She glanced at Gwen. "Except the absurdly nice girl. And probably not Bethany. Maybe the sidekick, though."

"It's a really long story," Bethany said quickly. Owen was frozen, both from fear and embarrassment. He didn't know what to say or how to say it, and it made everything worse that Charm was standing right there, already angry at him. This was already going so much worse than he thought it would, and he hadn't even told her the truth yet!

"Well, I have all the time in the world to hear it," Charm said darkly, walking past them to the door. They didn't have much of a choice but to follow. "This _better_ be good."

They walked in silence a short distance to a less populated area of the city, where Charm led them to a fountain to discuss everything that had happened. After pulling Kiel aside and talking to him for nearly twenty minutes, she'd seemed to less confused than before, although she still had the same angry look on her face. Kiel walked over to where the rest of the group sat, and Charm waved Owen over to talk to her next.

Owen stared fearfully at Kiel, who only sighed, taking a seat in the grass beside Bethany. "She wants to talk to you, and she's not happy. Well, she's pretty much forgiven me, but she thinks you know more than I do. She wants to hear your side of the story, since apparently she thinks you're me?"

Not knowing what to say, Owen nodded, shaking getting to his feet. He glanced back at Kiel, who mouthed "good luck", then looked at Bethany, who smiled despite looking worried. Orion just looked confused and irritated as usual, while Gwen gave him an encouraging thumbs-up. With a sigh, Owen trudged over to the fountain, which was where Charm was impatiently waiting.

"Kiel tells me that you're not him, but honestly, I'm not sure _what_ to think," Charm said as soon as he sat down. "You have Kiel's robotic heart, and my scanners tell me that you're him. Either way, you have some explaining to do, because I'm not sure who to believe."

Owen bit his lip, not saying anything for a while. As his nerves heightened, he tried to think of something to say. Telling her the truth would be hard. He always knew it would be. Ever since Bethany and Kiel had rescued him from the seventh Kiel Gnomenfoot book, he'd thought many times about telling Charm the truth. He never figured it'd happen this way, and he didn't feel confident at all about telling her. He was ashamed of his past self's actions, and all he wanted was for her to like him, to forgive him.

Now, there was nothing left to do but tell Charm the truth about who he really was. He'd kept it a secret for years, letting her think he was Kiel Gnomenfoot when he actually wasn't. He felt guilty about it, too. But he'd just never known how to tell her. He didn't know how she'd react, or how he'd explain the situation to her. It was probably the hardest thing he'd ever have to do.

Taking a deep breath, Owen began his explanation with a feeling of dread. "The truth is, I'm not Kiel Gnomenfoot. I never was. I should've told you all of this earlier, but I . . . I didn't know _how_. Back when we were looking for the seventh key, that was me, disguised as Kiel. The real Kiel was on a different world. That's why _I_ have your robotic heart, not Kiel. That's why you thought I was Kiel before, but I'm not."

Charm just stared at him, her eyes furrowed as she slowly reached for her ray gun. "You're _not_ Kiel? Who are you, then?"

Owen held up a hand, stopping her before she decided to shoot him. "Don't shoot, okay? You can trust me. I know I lied to you, but that was before I knew you. I . . . I was just trying to do what was best for Magisteria. Trust me, I feel horrible about lying."

" _Who are you_?"

He looked at the ground, too embarrassed to meet her eyes. "My real name is Owen. Owen Conners. And I'm not Kiel Gnomenfoot at all. I'm from the . . . the nonfictional world, not yours. In my world, we're able to see into your world through books. Bethany's power is jumping in and out of them, and the rest of us just read them and followed your stories."

"When I found out about Bethany's powers, I asked her to take us into Kiel's story. I saved the Magister from Dr. Verity when he was supposed to die, but the whole thing backfired. Unfortunately, the Magister figured out where Bethany and I came from, and he and Kiel traveled to my world, leaving me behind. With Kiel gone, someone had to take his place. So I did, but it wasn't really for the right reasons."

"All I wanted to know was what it was like to be Kiel, to be a hero," he continued, glancing over at her before he looked back at the ground. "I'm no one. I'm just a regular kid without any special abilities, and I thought it would be incredible to act out as Kiel. Kiel has always been my favorite character, and I thought it would be fun. But I didn't realize how dangerous it was. All I cared about was to be a hero, and I didn't think about any of the consequences."

Owen looked over at her again, swallowing hard. His entire face burned like a wildfire, and his hands shook slightly. "I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you. That was years ago, and I've learned from my mistakes. I've wanted to tell you tons of times, but I just never knew when the right timing would be. I wanted you to keep thinking of me as your friend—"

"So you lied to me," Charm said, looking disgusted. "I always wondered why you acted so different after the sixth key, after we thought the Magister had died. I _knew_ I was right for thinking you were someone you weren't. You weren't acting — no, _Kiel_ wasn't acting like he usually does." She turned to glare daggers at him. "Now I understand who the real Kiel was. _You're_ the imposter, not him."

"Charm, I'm really—" Owen started to say, but she cut him off, glaring furiously at him.

"So you disguised yourself as Kiel, thinking that I would _like_ you?" she demanded. "Thinking that it was all a game? Thinking that our _lives_ were a game? You could've told me the truth after we fought Dr. Verity the last time, but no, you didn't. You let me keeping thinking that you were Kiel after that, even when we went to Jupiter City. Are you _that_ desperate to be liked?

"I-I—" Owen tried to come up with something to say, but he couldn't. He was at a loss for words. Too embarrassed to look her in the eyes, he stared at the ground, tears flooding his eyes. He blinked them away, not wanting to cry in front of her. He wanted to apologize, but the guilt was so unbearable that he didn't trust himself to speak.

"Do you have anything to say, _Owen_?" Charm asked, her tone icy. "Or are you so pathetic that I should just ray gun you right now?"

"I-I, um, I can't even begin to apologize," he stammered. He looked at her, and his heart broke even more to see that her face was devoid of emotion now. "I know I should've told you. I _know_ I was wrong! Trust me, I do!"

"If you knew you were wrong, then you would've told me right away," she said coldly. "That's what a friend would do, and you are _not_ my friend. You will never be my friend, not in a thousand years. You disgust me. I don't care that you're friends with Kiel. I don't care _who_ you are anymore, but I never want to talk to you again. Are we clear?"

"Charm, wait. Hold on a minute! I didn't mean to hurt you! You have to believe that," Owen said, practically begging her to forgive him. "I'm _so_ sorry."

"No, you're not."

"But I am!" he insisted, begging for her to forgive him. It felt like his world was falling apart, all because of his past mistakes. If he hadn't been so selfish, this never would've happened. All he'd wanted was to be a hero, to be Kiel Gnomenfoot. But he'd been wrong. He'd learned from all of his mistakes, and now, the one that he regretted the most had come back to turn his world upside down.

He tried to think of something, anything that would make her forgive him, but he couldn't think of anything. There was nothing he could say right now. Everything that needed to be said had already been said, but somehow, Owen felt even worse that he'd told her the truth.

He wished he could do something to keep her from walking away, but he knew that would be impossible. It was his own fault that he'd lied to her, and all he could hope for now was that she would forgive him someday. The only good thing was that he no longer had to pretend he was Kiel, but now, Charm would never be his friend again, yet alone _talk_ to him.

"I don't believe you," Charm said quietly. "Don't you think you would've told me right away if you _really_ were sorry?"

Owen stared at her, too shocked and hurt to respond. She slammed her hands on the rim of the fountain, pushing herself up. She glared down at him, and he shrunk back, wondering if it was possible to feel this humiliated. "That's what I thought. Make yourself useful for once, and stay away from me."

* * *

"So, what was that you were saying earlier, before this whole mess started? Something about defeating Nobody?" Charm asked, her hands on her hips as she walked back over to them, finished talking to Owen. She smiled evilly. "Because if so, I'm _completely_ on board."

"Good," Bethany said. "You might already know this then, but Nobody is going to destroy the fictional world if we don't stop him. _All_ of the worlds. He's going to wipe them out using this thing called—"

"Pure possibility," Kiel interrupted, much to Bethany's annoyance. He was sitting next to her, picking up pieces of grass with his hand. "It's that giant white wall over there, and it's slowly wiping everything out." He pointed to the left, and they all looked over. Past the buildings of Quanterium, there was the giant pure possibility wall, which Bethany hadn't noticed before. "If we don't defeat him, that thing will wipe everything out, and he'll be in control of the entire fictional world."

"I know what it is," Charm snapped, rolling her eyes. "Nobody told me about it when he came to Quanterium."

"Wait . . . he came to Quanterium? When did that happen?"

"A few years ago, I think," she said. "He threatened to destroy Quanterium _and_ Magisteria. He told me his entire plan too, but I didn't believe him." She scoffed. "Didn't think it was possible. I tried fighting him, but that didn't work out. I tried looking for you too, Kiel, but he couldn't find you either." She glared at him.

"I was busy," Kiel explained. "I was relearning magic, creating the most powerful spell ever, trying to stop Nobody, those kinds of things. A lot was going on, and I was trying to get to the nonfictional world to reunite Bethany's fictional and nonfictional selves after Nobody split her in half."

"It's complicated," Bethany said, knowing just how weird that might sound to someone else. The only people who understood that situation just as much as she did were Owen and Kiel, since they'd been with her from start to finish.

Charm looked confused, but shook her head. "Okay, whatever. I'll need to hear that story some other time. Anyways, after Nobody left, that stupid white wall showed up, and buildings and people started disappearing as they passed through it. I _knew_ it was all a part of Nobody's plan, so I tried running experiments on it to figure out what it was. But it didn't work, because whenever I tried to collect it, the nothingness just made everything disappear!"

"Of course it disappeared," Orion said dryly. "What did you think? That the pure possibility wall that's supposed to wipe out everything in its path _wouldn't_ make something disappear when you touch it?"

Charm grabbed her ray guns and pointed them at Orion, and Bethany quickly pushed her hands down. "Hey, _no_ shooting!"

Charm released a sigh. "I really would prefer to shoot him. He annoys me. Does he think he's better than me?"

Orion snorted. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't _think_ I'm better than you, Charm. I _know_ I am."

"Whoa!" Kiel said, stepping in between them just as Charm powered up her ray guns, looking angry. "I get that you guys aren't exactly friends."

"No, we aren't," Charm said. "And I'd really like to shoot him, if you would _move out of the way_." She tried to push past him, but Kiel held her back.

"No ones shooting anyone!" Bethany shouted.

"I can shoot whoever I want to!"

Gwen only laughed. "Isn't Charm funny, Orion?"

Orion turned to stare at Gwen without cracking a smile. "I don't think many things are funny." Kiel looked almost offended about what Orion had said, and Bethany suddenly had to keep herself from laughing.

"Oh," Gwen said. "That's . . . really sad."

Once Charm stopped struggling, Kiel sat back down next to Bethany, shaking his head. "I _know_ you think some things are funny," Bethany told Orion. "I've seen you laugh."

"No you _haven't_!" her adopted brother shot back.

"Can I shoot him later?" Charm asked. Kiel only winked at her, and she rolled her eyes. "I didn't miss _that_ at all."

"So, can we get back to the important conversation? What happened with Nobody?" Bethany asked. "Did he ever come back, or have you seen him lately?"

Charm shook her head, scowling. "No. I haven't seen him in a year, and I've tried to find him, but he's nowhere on Quanterium. He never came back. If he had, I would've punched him right in his stupid faceless face."

"I've been wanting to do that," Kiel admitted.

At that moment, Owen trudged over to them from where he'd been sitting on the fountain, his eyes slightly red. He didn't even look at them as he sat next to Kiel, looking sadder than Bethany had ever seen him. She stared at him, feeling concerned. What had happened over there? It had clearly upset him. She wanted to ask him about it, but she'd have to wait until later.

"And now, that pure possibility wall is going to make everything disappear," Charm continued, not acknowledging Owen's presence. "I've tried finding formulas and conducting experiments that would stop it, but everything I throw at it doesn't make it move. For now, I've resorted to telling Quanterians to evacuate away from the white wall if they're anywhere near it. I only understand half of the science, and I've spent years trying to understand it." She grunted, clearly annoyed. "But I'm not going to stop until I _make_ it disappear with science."

"That's the problem. Science won't work on it," Bethany said. "The wall is only going to keep coming closer until it destroys the entire world, and the only thing that'll stop it is if we defeat Nobody. We have to—"

"Are you telling me that science won't work on it?" Charm glared at her. "You know nothing about science, and you know nothing about the pure possibility."

"What?" Bethany felt her irritation rising. "I might not understand the science, but I understand what it's doing! Science won't work on it, Charm. Nothing will, which is why we need to defeat Nobody. That'll get rid of the pure possibility wall, and it'll get rid of Nobody, too."

The half-robotic girl rolled her eyes. "You don't understand, which doesn't surprise me. Science fixes everything, and I'll destroy that wall with it. All I have to do is use the chemical elements that go against what the wall is made of, some quantum physics, and some simple preschool math—"

"None of that makes sense!" Bethany said.

"Well, it would if you were smarter," Charm muttered.

Bethany narrowed her eyes, ready to yell at her, but Gwen beat her to it. "Let's not fight about this. It sounds like this pure possibility wall is making everything disappear, and I understand that you would want to do anything you can to stop it. So do I. I know that from what I've heard, the pure possibility can't be stopped so easily."

She gestured around them. "That's why we're recruiting all of our friends, to stop Nobody. We're going to fight him together, so I know it'll work to stop what's happening." Bethany found herself relaxing at Gwen's words, and Gwen smiled at her. She smiled back.

"We came for _your_ help for fighting Nobody," Kiel reminded Charm. "So are you going to come with us? Because I might not understand much science, but whatever you throw at that wall won't work. Only defeating Nobody will."

Charm sighed. "You really are stupid enough to be Dr. Verity's clone, aren't you?" She shook her head, looking like she was contemplating something for a while. When she finally spoke, she shrugged and said, "Alright, whatever. I know science would work on it, but I'd rather get revenge on Nobody as soon as I can. I'll _gladly_ fight him. I've been looking forward to doing it. I doubt you'd survive long without my help, anyway."

Orion muttered something under his breath about him being able to survive all on his own, and Charm stared at him with annoyance. She opened her mouth to yell something, but to Bethany's relief, Kiel cut her off. She didn't want her adopted brother and her friend to keep fighting like this. It wasn't fun to watch, and she hoped that they'd learn to get along, even if it was unlikely.

"Perfect. Let's go!" Kiel said, then glanced at Owen, who was still silent. Leaning towards him, he whispered something to Owen. Owen only shook his head, his face falling.

Suddenly, a gigantic holographic screen appeared in the sky, right above the buildings of Quanterium. Bethany and Owen audibly gasped as Dr. Verity appeared on the screen, standing in front of a science building.

"Citizens of Quanterium," Dr. Verity said, grinning evilly. "It's your former president, Dr. Verity. Did you miss me? I am pleased to inform you that I have captured thirty Magisterians, and I am holding them hostage as I speak. If you want any of them to live, you will bring Kiel Gnomenfoot to me, so I can kill him in exchange for their lives!" He began to laugh, harder and harder.

When he was regained himself enough to speak, he continued, "I've been looking for him for _years_ , and I've decided that this was the only way to get him back! So if you don't hand him to me within the next ten minutes, you will never see these Magisterians again, and I will make sure Magisteria is destroyed." He grinned. "See you soon, Kiel!"

The holographic screen vanished, and everyone on the streets had gone silent, staring up at the sky in shock. The Quanterians and Magisterians in the crowd spoke in hushed voices, looking confused and afraid.

"I can't believe Dr. Verity's back," Bethany said, her eyes wide. " _How_ did he escape?"

Gwen frowned. "Oh no. Who's Dr. Verity?"

"He used to be the president of Quanterium, but he's crazy!" Owen spoke up. "He tried to kill me, and he's tried to kill Kiel several times. He _hates_ Magisterians."

"I'm stopping him," Kiel said, his voice unusually low and angry. Before anyone could stop him, he rose to his feet. They all fell silent, turning to stare at him in shock. Orion's head snapped up from where he was sitting. He stared silently at Kiel, almost looking like he understood.

"Don't be stupid," Charm growled, grabbing Kiel's arm. He pulled out of her grasp and headed purposefully towards the buildings. "Hey, don't be stupid!"

"Kiel," Bethany said, standing up and turning to him in a daze. She tried to grab him, but he shoved past her without even looking her way. He didn't look back as he broke off into a sprint and pushed aside a few people, disappearing into the crowd. "Kiel? _Kiel!"_

"Kiel, wait!" Gwen shouted.

"What is he doing?" Orion asked, rising to his feet.

Bethany gasped, her heart rate increasing as she stared after him. _"_ Where are you going?!"

"Kiel!" Owen shouted, then began to chase after him.

Charm stood in front of him, blocking Owen's path. "Let him go."

"But —"

"Let him go! He's done stupid things before. He'll be fine!"

"We'll see about that. He shouldn't be fighting Dr. Verity by himself," Bethany said, shoving the half-robotic girl aside and running up the steps that led away from the fountain, the other four at her heels. She scanned the crowd for Kiel, but there were too many people. She began to panic. She couldn't see him. "KIEL!"

"Where did he go?" Owen asked, frantically looking around. "I don't see him anywhere."

"He went to Dr. Verity," Charm said, rubbing her forehead. "Ugh! He's just going to make everything worse! Why did he always have to care so much about Magisterians?"

"Because he _is_ Magisterian?" Owen said.

"He's going to be okay," Gwen said, briefly squeezing Bethany's hand. "I hope so, at least."

Charm shook her head. "Clearly, you haven't heard stories about Dr. Verity. _No_ one is alright with that lunatic. Kiel's just going to get himself killed."

"Where would Dr. Verity be?" Bethany asked, her voice shaking.

"In the Quanterian Center for Scientific Studies. That's the building Dr. Verity was standing in front of." Charm pointed, and Bethany strained her eyes to see where her finger was extended. It was an enormous building, which Bethany recalled as a place where scientific experiments were done.

"There?"

Charm nodded wordlessly, then took out her ray guns. "Let's go. He won't be able to handle whatever Dr. Verity has without my help." She threw a look at them. "Seriously. It's like he needs to sacrifice himself to save everyone else. What an idiot."

"He's not an idiot," Owen defended. "He's a hero. He knows what he's doing."

"Bold of you to assume he knows what he's doing, but okay. Let's move." Charm nodded her head and started walking in the direction that Kiel had bolted. Bethany followed her, trying to ignore the desperate feeling that she had in her chest.

The only thing she could think about was Kiel. Her mind ran in circles at all the possible ways he could be getting into trouble. What he was doing now? Was he okay? No, he was Kiel Gnomenfoot. There was no way he _wasn't_ in trouble right now. And if they didn't get to him quick, there was a chance he could get hurt.

"If this guy is actually going to kill him, he's doomed," Orion said from beside Bethany.

"He has magic to defend himself," Gwen said, though she looked doubtful. "We'll get to him soon, before anything bad happens."

"I'm worried about him," Owen said from Bethany's other side, quiet enough for her to hear.

"Me too," Bethany said, shoving past a woman to her left. "He just ran off. He's crazy to think he can save everyone."

"That's his character. That's how he was written — I mean. He's selfless."

"I know. He is." As they walked through the busy street, trying to get through the crowds of people, a tremor suddenly shook the earth. After that, another one shook. It was strong enough to knock everyone off their feet, and almost the entire crowd fell. Bethany found herself face-down on the hard ground, rubbing her sore elbows.

"What's going on?" she yelled.

"I — I don't know!" Owen shouted back, struggling to stand. The ground shook violently again, and everyone screamed.

"It's happening," Charm said, looking around with a shocked expression. Aside from Gwen, who was hovering in the air, she was one of the few people who were still on their feet.

" _What's_ happening?"

"Nobody said he's destroy it. Our world is falling apart."

Bethany had just enough time to look up, and she saw what she meant. All of the buildings were swaying and groaning, threatening to break. A sick feeling grew in her gut, and she could only watch, frozen in fear. Another violent tremor shook the earth, and this time, it didn't stop. All at once, the buildings collapsed in a heap.

* * *

 _"_ _Don't walk away, don't roll your eyes. They say love is pain. Well, darling, let's hurt tonight . . ."_


	30. Miles Apart

_**I'll Come Back For You (by Max**_ ** _Schneider_** _ **)**_

 _"_ _I'll come back for you, back someday for you. If it's too hard for you, then do what you gotta do . . ."_

* * *

Kiel raced to the Quanterian Center for Scientific Studies, pushing through the crowd of murmuring Quanterians in his haste to stop Dr. Verity before the worst occurred. His mind felt like a fog as he ran, barely hearing his friends' voices or the noises around him. Determination and anger burned in his veins, which only escalated once the building came into sight.

He couldn't believe that Dr. Verity was alive. It was shocking and irritating and infuriating all at once. He'd never imagined that the crazed scientist would ever escape the room with the Source of Magic that Kiel had locked him in. He didn't understand how Dr. Verity had ever gotten out of that place.

There'd been a bomb in there too, which should've made it impossible for him to escape. How _could_ he have? It seemed impossible, yet here he was, once again threatening Kiel's life just like he'd done years ago.

All Kiel cared about was the lives of the Magisterians, who were in danger at this very moment. And he was angry. Angry that Dr. Verity had survived, angry that he'd gone as far as to hold Magisterians hostage _and_ threaten Kiel. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice told him that he should calm down and think some things through before he barged into the building.

He was normally pretty calm in regular sitautions, and he wasn't one to get angry unless something truly made him upset. But this was different, because Magisterians — his _people_ — were involved. He would've felt the same way if any of his friends were in danger.

But Kiel ignored the voice. The danger hardly mattered. He'd fought Dr. Verity so many times before, and he would win this time again. He couldn't let anything bad happen to them, not if he could do something about it. These people were from his home planet, Magisteria. The place he'd grown up in, and the place he'd learned magic in. He'd never forgive himself if he let them suffer or die.

Taking two stairs at a time, the boy magician sprinted up the steps of the Quanterian Center for Scientific Studies and kicked open the door. "Verity!" he shouted, taking his wand-knives out of their sheaths. "Where are they? Where'd you put the Magisterians?"

"You're here early," a voice said, and a man wearing a white lab coat and huge goggles stepped into view from the end of the hallway. "I wasn't expecting you to show up this fast. Honestly, I was hardly expecting you to come here at all. But look at you, obliging me by showing up anyway!" Dr. Verity walked closer and held up a ray gun. "Wow, you look older. And taller. Wait until you're my age, kid. _This_ is what you've got to look forward to." Kiel said nothing, and he grinned. "It feels like old times. Me threatening to kill you, you coming to stop me . . ."

"How are you _alive_?" Kiel demanded, feeling even angrier at the sight of his old nemesis. "I left you in the Source of Magic with your own bomb about to explode!"

Dr. Verity rolled his eyes. "You know how much of a genius I am, Kiel. I had my escape planned from the start!"

"You'd _never_ seen that coming," Kiel said. "You couldn't have gotten out, not without help from outside. So who let you out, then? Science Soldiers?"

"Of course not!" Dr. Verity spat, looking annoyed now. "I arranged to be removed from the vault at the last moment by this . . . faceless creature."

"Nobody," Kiel whispered, realization dawning on him.

"I knew that only one with powers like his could have saved me, or I'd never have allowed you to close the vault door with me in it," Dr. Verity continued, apparently not hearing him. "I am all-knowing, smarter and more powerful than anyone on the planet! Do you think I'd _let_ you lock me up?" He cackled. "No, because I foresee _everything,_ unlike _you_. I don't care what that faceless creature said to me about me being written as some sort of villian—"

"What did you do to them?" Kiel interrupted, glaring at him. The stuff about Nobody was likely important too, but when Dr. Verity was talking, nothing seemed to make sense. He had to save the Magisterians before it was too late.

Dr. Verity paused, appearing almost confused for a moment. "Who?"

"The _Magisterians_. See, that right there is your problem, which is another reason why I definitely can't see myself being you when I'm older! You can't stay focused. I _won't_ ask again. Where are the Magisterians? What did you _do_ to them?" Kiel glared at him. "And if you hurt _any_ of them, I'll turn you into a hat or a toad and I'll make sure you stay that way forever."

"Ah." The mad scientist cackled, his hand tightening around his ray gun. "I know how much you care about the Magisterians, so I made up a lie that I was holding them hostage. I know that you're all too ready to throw down your worthless life for what you believe in. I have no idea where you got _that_ from, but I used it to my advantage. If there was anything that would bring you here, it was that. Genius idea, am I right?"

" _What_?" Kiel asked, his eyes widening. All of the sudden, he felt so confused. He'd come here under the assumption that Magisterians were being held captive, and now that was all a lie? He glanced around the room in disbelief. "So there aren't any Magisterians at all? What do you _want_ , then?"

"Kiel, my boy, what do I _always_ want?" Dr. Verity sighed deeply. "How many times have we covered this? I want to wipe every Magisterian from existence, _you_ most of all. And what better way to kill you then to lead you straight here, to me?" He slowly walked closer, his ray gun pointed directly at Kiel.

"You won't be killing me." Kiel raised his wand-knives, and the mad scientist stopped moving, staring at the weapons in his hands. The boy magician winked at him, though he still felt a great deal of anger. "I may be a clone of you, but I'm ten times the person you'll ever be. I've fought you and won hundreds of times, so let's face it: you're going to lose no matter what. You don't stand a chance against magic. I'm probably the best magician there ever was!"

"Best?" Dr. Verify spat, his eyes flashing with anger. "You never lost any of your arrogance. I think you're tragic!"

"Me, tragic?" Kiel almost laughed. "You know I'm a clone of you, right? So aren't you just insulting yourself when you call me that?"

"Shut up, you little monster!" the mad scientist roared, and Kiel ducked as Dr. Verity fired the ray gun at him. Instead of hitting him, the deadly laser beam flew past him and hit the wall behind him, completely destroying the door.

Kiel straightened back up, glancing back at the missing door. "You should really learn to aim better. You should know by now that you'll never be able to beat me, because I _always_ beat you—"

"Enough of this!" Dr. Verity shouted, walking forward before Kiel had any time to move. " _Now_ , I'm going to finally get rid of you."

He pressed his ray gun against Kiel's forehead, and Kiel froze as he felt the gun powering up again. "Go on, tell me your stupid heroic jokes." He sighed. "I really wish there were some people nearby to watch, but I guess this'll have to do. I've been waiting forever for this moment. If you're so against being my clone, then show me how brave you are, will you? Show me how much better you are than me. Give me some more of that arrogance."

"I don't have to show _anything_ to prove that," Kiel shot back, feeling disgusted. He glared at the man, but inwardly, he was really hoping that he wouldn't die this way. No, he definitely wouldn't die. He always won against Dr. Verity. He had plenty of near-death experiences, and he'd never died from those. "I already _am_ better than you, Verity. I'd never wear a lab coat in public!"

"Is that all?" Dr. Verity asked, pressing the ray gun harder against Kiel's forehead. Kiel refused to back away, trying not to flinch or give into his fear. He curled his hands around his wand-knives and thought of a spell, then began to chant it, only for Dr. Verity to cut him off.

"No more magic!" he roared, throwing a hand over Kiel's mouth. Kiel tried to move away, but Dr. Verity held on, making it impossible for him to continue his spell. "This is _my_ time, and I'm not going to let you ruin it with your stupid spells!" He laughed crazily, and clicked the handle on the ray gun. "Good-bye, Kiel."

And then the world fell apart, and Dr. Verity's words were the last thing Kiel remembered before darkness overcame him.

* * *

The powerful earthquakes that followed were enough to knock everyone off their feet, and in their state of fear and shock, no one got up for a while. When the tremors finally subsided, it was suddenly much quieter. The screams of Quanterians and Magisterians had ceased, and the only thing Bethany heard for the first few minutes was the wind. When she regained enough strength to pick herself up, she wearily lifted her head to look at the destruction, dreading what she was about to see.

And it was even worse than she thought it would be. The buildings that used to make up Quanterium were now only piles of debris and rubble. The only people that weren't buried under the rubble were the ones that had been walking around the streets, which had been maybe thousands of people. Everyone seemed to be in a state of shock, and many were starting to cry as they looked around at the ruins of their planet.

Quanterium was destroyed.

Too shocked to say anything, Bethany pushed herself into a sitting position, her body trembling. Nobody . . . had done all of this? Was this just to restart the fictional world by turning it back into pure possibility, or was this simply an act of revenge? Either way, neither answer was okay. She felt sick. She glanced over at her friends, who were all silently taking everything in, looking just as shocked and distraught as she felt.

"Is everyone okay?" Gwen asked, staring at them with concern from where she hovered in the air.

"Y-Yeah," Owen said, his eyes wide as he struggled to pick himself off the ground. His mouth hung open in shock as he looked at their surroundings, and Bethany realized how difficult it must've been for him to see his favorite book destroyed.

Bethany looked over at Orion, and her eyes widened. She didn't know how it'd gotten there, but there was blood on his forehead — probably from the force of hitting the ground. "You're bleeding."

"Yes, but that's irrelevant," he stated, not looking at her.

She raised her eyebrows. "Want to elaborate?"

"No," Orion muttered, his frown deepening. "Would someone explain what just happened?"

Bethany only shook her head in disbelief. "I . . . it's all _destroyed_." She could hardly believe it, since it had happened so fast. It felt like a dream. As the shock slowly wore off, a voice in the back of her head reminded her that _Nobody_ had done this. How could he have gotten so powerful that he'd destroyed an entire _world_ , most likely killing innocent people in the process? Enough was enough. She had to put an end to this before more worlds were destroyed.

Gwen touched her feet down on the ground and placed a hand on Charm's. "I'm so sorry—"

Charm flinched away, slamming her fist hard into the ground. " _No_. Everything is taken from me. Why would Quanterium be any different?" Bethany felt a jolt of pity go through her. Despite the grief she was feeling, Bethany doubted it was anything compared to how Charm felt.

"We _will_ get revenge on Nobody," Orion told her. "We won't back down until justice has been served."

Charm glanced at him and opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment, a Quanterian man walked over with a forlorn expression. "Are you kids alright?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Orion retorted.

The man blinked. "Uh . . . yes, I would. Are you hurt, kid? I can see that you're bleeding."

Orion rolled his eyes. "Who are you calling 'kid'?"

"I'm sorry, I—"

"He was just asking a question!" Bethany said.

"We're _fine_ ," Charm snapped, looking at the man.

"Yeah, w-we're okay," Owen said, his voice shaking. "What's happening? Is everyone going to be okay?"

The man sighed heavily, rubbing a hand over his eyes. "It's hard to tell yet. We haven't been able to check everywhere yet, but we've sent robots to scan the area so we can start digging out people that are alive."

"And Kiel Gnomenfoot?" Bethany asked, practically begging. "He went to Dr. Verity, in one of those science centers or whatever! Have you seen him?"

The man shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid not. So many people got buried under the rubble after the buildings collapsed. It's hard to tell who's alive. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but if your friend was inside a building, then he likely is—"

"I'm not taking that for an answer!" Bethany shouted. "He's still out there!"

"Bethany—" Orion began, starting to grab her arm. She shoved away from him, anger and fear coursing in her veins.

"Where is he?! You _have_ to know where he is! We need to find him! I don't care _where_ he is! Just take us to him!"

"He was at the Quanterian Center for Scientific Studies," Charm informed the man in a voice that was strangely calm. "Can you scan that area too?"

Sighing again, the man stared at them for a few seconds before taking a machine out from his pocket and tapping something into it. The machine lit up, and from nearby, Bethany saw small robots floating over to a section far away from them. A red light then shot out from the robots, and they scanned the area up and down until the light abruptly disappeared.

A robotic voice came from inside the machine, too quiet for Bethany to hear. The Quanterian lifted the machine to his ear, and his face turned paler than it already was. He didn't say anything for several minutes, which made Bethany's nerves escalate even more. Had they found Kiel? What was the voice in the machine saying? She was desperate for answers, and the waiting made it even worse. She held her breath, not daring to move.

"I'm sorry," the man said finally, meeting their eyes. "But our sensors just scanned the area, we haven't located any living people near the Quanterian Center for Scientific Studies. I don't know how to tell you this but . . ."

"But what?" Owen asked.

"Kiel Gnomenfoot is . . . dead."

The air seemed suddenly thick and difficult to breathe in. Bethany stared at the man in disbelief, unable to speak. It felt like a ton of bricks had been thrown onto her body, weighing her down and giving her no ability to move. It felt like she was drowning, or like she'd just been punched a million times in the stomach. The ringing in her ears was the only thing she could hear. She couldn't breathe or even think as she struggled to process what she'd just heard. There was no way it could be true. It _couldn't_ be.

Charm blinked. "Excuse me? He's . . . what?"

The man gulped. "He's dead."

Growling, the half-robotic girl grabbed the front of the man's shirt. "If you're lying, I _swear_ I'll—"

"Charm!" Gwen gasped, and pulled the man away. "I'm sorry, sir. She didn't mean that." Giving them one last look, the man ran away, leaving the group to stare after him in shock.

"Yes, I did. I don't believe a word he says," Charm said, narrowing her eyes.

"Charm, he's dead," Orion said, but his expression was one of understanding and pity. "You have to realize that there's nothing we can do now."

Charm glared at him, looking more upset than Bethany had ever seen her. "I'm going to gather up the Quanterians before we lose the entire planet, if not more," she said darkly. Then, swearing loudly and angrily, she stormed off across the rubble, disappearing behind the clouds of dust.

"He can't be dead," Owen whispered, and Bethany looked over at him to see that tears were streaming down his face. He was staring at the ground, shaking his head over and over. "He _can't_ be."

Bethany didn't know what to say, so instead, she reached over and grabbed his hand tightly, interlocking her fingers with his. Right now, she needed him with her. That was the only thing she was glad about: that at least her other friends were with her. She didn't know what she'd do if she was alone. Somehow, it felt even worse than losing her father. At least she'd still believed her father was alive then, but now, there was nothing she could do to save Kiel. Just like that, he was gone. She wanted to cry.

It felt like there was an enormous ache in her chest, like at any point, her heart was going to burst open from the pain. She thought about Kiel, the boy magician who always winked and made her smile. The boy who threw himself into danger without a second thought. The boy who used to make her heart jump, but now made her heart break. He annoyed her sometimes, but he was her best friend. She couldn't imagine life without him.

She remembered back when she was twelve, when she helped Kiel set up his magically created house down the street so he could go to school with her and Owen. She remembered jumping into books with Kiel, sometimes with Owen and sometimes alone. She remembered all the fun times they'd had together, and all the regrets she had with the way she acted towards him when she was only nonfictional.

As her mind went over the memories they'd shared, Bethany found tears forming in her eyes. She tried to blink them away, but a single tear came running down her face anyway. In a strained voice, she whispered, "This is all my fault."

"How could you say that?" Gwen asked, sitting beside her and touching her arm. "Bethany, none of this is your fault. You were so brave, running after him like that. We couldn't have stopped him. But I have a feeling that he's going to come back from this. He's alive. I can feel it."

Rubbing her eyes, Bethany turned to look at Gwen. "How can you do that? Be so positive, I mean? The man said he's _dead_ , Gwen." A lump formed in her throat, and she began to cry harder. "My father's already been taken from me. I can't lose _Kiel_. I don't _want_ to believe that he's . . . you know . . . but . . ."

"I know how you feel," her friend said, smiling sadly at her. "When I found out my parents were dead, I didn't want to believe it either. I thought there was something I could've done to save them, but I realized that I couldn't."

"Then what _did_ you do?" Bethany asked, her voice shaking. She glanced at Owen, who looked completely lost in thought, not even listening to their conversation. Orion, on the other hand, was watching them quietly with a solemn expression.

"Nothing," Gwen said. "But I always wished I could've saved them. I'm just thankful for them, you know? That they saved me before my Earth exploded. I wouldn't be alive if they hadn't done that."

Bethany nodded, sniffling. No matter how pained and grieved she felt right now, she definitely felt thankful for Kiel. "And you never got to meet them, either. That must've been hard."

"It was," Gwen said. "I've always wanted to meet them, to come home and talk to them about my incredible adventures." She smiled. "Especially after you took me to see Earth for the first time. That was one of the best days of my life. No — it was _the_ best day of my life. Period. I don't think I'll _ever_ be able to repay you for that."

"No, no," Bethany said, shaking her head. Through her tears, she smiled. "You already have."

"Oh, I'm so happy to hear you say that!" Gwen grinned, only for her smile to fade. "But there's always a positive in even the worst situations, and I believe that Kiel isn't dead. We shouldn't believe anything until we have clear proof that it's true, so don't lose hope. He has to be alive. He's a survivor, just like you are. Just like _all_ of us are."

"Y-You're right," Bethany said quietly, already starting to feel better. Gwen never failed to make her feel more optimistic, but it didn't exactly help when Quanterium was in ruins all around her, and her best friend was somewhere underneath all of the rubble. And according to the man, he was dead. _Dead_.

Even now, after the Quanterian man had told her that Kiel was dead, she couldn't imagine it. It felt like a lie. At any moment, Kiel would come walking around the corner and wink at her, saying that he had it all under control. That would be a very Kiel thing to do. But he wasn't here now, and as much as she hated to believe it, it was likely that Kiel could be dead.

And if that was actually true, she'd have to learn how to live without him. But she couldn't face that. She _refused_ to face that. Somehow, he had to be alive. He just had to be. Feeling a burst of determination, Bethany scrambled to her feet with a hard expression. "Let's look for him."

"What?" Owen whispered.

Orion just stared at her. "Why would we do that? We already know he's dead."

"He might not be," Gwen said, rising to her feet. "He'll come back around. We won't know until we have proof."

Owen looked at her with such doubt in his eyes that it made Bethany's heart hurt, but then, he nodded and silently got to his feet. They all looked expectantly at Orion, who shook his head but stood up anyway. "This is a stupid idea."

"I know," Bethany said quietly, not feeling any more hopeful than the rest of them. "But if we can find Kiel, it'll be worth it."

 _Even if he_ is _really dead_ , she thought.

* * *

When Kiel opened his eyes, he found himself unable to breathe. And there was pain; he felt it all throughout his body. His ears rang. He groaned, trying to figure out why he couldn't move. For some reason, it was pitch-black, and the smell of dust and smoke hung in the air. He inhaled deeply, but that only led to more pain. What was going on? The last thing he remembered was Dr. Verity holding a ray gun to his head, but that was it. Nothing made sense. How had this happened?

He lifted his arms, attempting to move pieces of rubble off of him. He could hardly see, but he knew that he was buried under something, maybe a building. Now that he was fully awake, he looked around, straining to see anything that could help him. It was still dark, but he could make out huge chunks of what used to be the ceiling.

Kiel tried to sit up, but he couldn't. There was something heavy that weighed on his body. He grunted, attempting with all his strength to push it off. It felt like a bunch of jagged rocks. After some time, he gave up and laid back down, feeling completely winded. He tried feeling around for his wand-knives, but he couldn't tell if they were there.

He began to worry; it was an uncharacteristic emotion on his part, but he was practically buried alive right now. He realized that he was going to be trapped here if he didn't get out soon. He knew that somehow, he was going to get out of here. And since he couldn't cast any spells at the moment, he'd have to try a different method.

"Hello?" Kiel tried to shout, but it came out as a small croak. His mouth tasted like sawdust. He coughed a few times, then tried again. "H-Hello?"

He heard footsteps, somewhere above him. He tilted his head up, hot tears starting to form in his eyes. He struggled to move again, but the rocks continued to crush his stomach and legs. He took a deep breath to yell something, then coughed again as the dust lingered in his throat.

"Can anyone —" he began, but started coughing again. It was nearly impossible to breathe. He took another breath, then shouted, "Owen! Bethany!"

The words came out clearer, so this time he screamed it. "OWEN! BETHANY! CHARM! GWEN! ORION? _ANYONE_?"

Kiel continued shouting, until at last he heard footsteps nearing, and he heard the shouts of men. "Hey, I think there's a person down here!"

"Yes!" Kiel shouted, his breath hitching. He coughed again, his entire body wracking with pain. " _YES!_ I'm here!"

A moment later, light flooded into the room as rubble was moved to the side. Kiel shielded his eyes with his hand, squinting as his vision returned. He took a deep breath, relieved that he was breathing in fresh air again. He felt embarrassed that he wasn't able to rescue himself, but it wasn't like he was in the condition to free himself, anyway. Once the opening was big enough, three men carefully climbed down, coming to a stop in front of Kiel.

The men pushed the rest of the rubble off of him, and Kiel like a weight — a _literal_ weight — had been lifted from his body. One of the men then leaned down over Kiel, extending a hand for him to grab. Weakly lifting his arm, Kiel took it, allowing himself to be pulled into a sitting position.

"Are you okay? Can you stand?" the man asked. Kiel opened his mouth, meaning to answer. But his throat was uncomfortably dry, so he nodded instead. He allowed the men to grab hold of his arms and help him through the opening. After almost slipping down the rubble a few times, Kiel made it to the top and shakily got to his feet, looking around at the scene with wide eyes.

It was dark out, nearly nighttime. The musty smell of demolished brick and annihilated buildings hung in the air. Civilians were everywhere, confusion evident on their faces. Some of them were crying, and others were sitting on chunks of rubble, staring at the now-destroyed Quanterium that surrounded them. Everywhere he looked, there were chunks of what used to be buildings — now collapsed. Everything was destroyed. The place he had visited thousands of times was gone, now unrecognizable.

"You're lucky to be alive," one of the men said, patting Kiel on the back. "That earthquake came out of nowhere, and it destroyed everything!"

What was he talking about? Kiel wasn't lucky at all, and he certainly didn't _feel_ lucky as he stared at the remains of his home planet. Yes, this was Quanterium, and he never liked it here due to the hoards of Science Soldiers and Science Police, but it still was something he was familiar with.

He'd come here thousands of times with his friends, mostly Charm. He'd come here on quests to find the keys, and he'd fight the Science Soldiers and Dr. Verity countless times until they finished their quest and went back home. Sometimes he even came here by himself, just to sit at the Presidential Palace, where a statue of himself was supposed to be put up.

Now, all of that was destroyed.

He felt like arguing with the man, but he didn't have the energy for it. It felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. This was his home, his _world_ , and it was gone. The thought echoed in his mind, over and over again in an endless circle. _It's gone, it's gone, it's gone._

"How long ago did this happen?" Kiel asked the man, his throat raw. For once, he didn't feel like winking or joking around. None of that seemed appropriate right now, not after his world had been destroyed. This brought another concern. Had Magisteria been destroyed too? Just the thought made him feel even sicker, and he could hardly breathe. He wasn't sure if he'd ever felt this hopeless before.

"A few hours ago," the man replied. "A lot of people got trapped under there. We're still rescuing people now."

Kiel sighed deeply, rubbing a hand over his soot-covered face. What was there left to do? He glanced down at his hands, which were bleeding and scraped in various places. He staggered forward, still trying to process everything. His mind was a mess. Barely able to interpret what had happened, he slowly sunk to his knees, staring all around him as his heart sunk even lower. He couldn't believe that his world was . . . _gone_.

He didn't understand how it'd happened, or why. He felt more confused than anything. Kiel was so used to being the hero, to saving his world before anything bad happened to it. This time, he'd been unable to save anyone. He felt numb as he stared at the remains of the city around him, and a lump formed in his throat. Tears leaked from the corner of his eyes, spilling out over his eyelids. He half-heartedly brushed them away, feeling surprised that he was even crying.

"Kiel!" he heard someone shout, and he turned automatically towards the sound. It sounded like a girl, but through the clouds of dust and endless debris, it was hard to see anything.

"Beth?" Kiel called, only to be overcome by a fit of coughs. His hope lifted, to the point where he began to smile. Could his friends be alive, too? He got to his feet, wincing from his several injuries that had occurred during the accident. He noticed that his clothes were also ripped in various places, including (sadly) his cape.

"Kiel!" Through the clouds of dust, he saw a familiar half-robotic girl running towards him. Despite his instant relief, he felt a twinge of disappointment that it wasn't Bethany. But that didn't matter. At least he'd found one friend, and that was enough to make him feel better.

Charm caught up to him and threw her arms around him, squeezing him hard enough to crack a rib. "We all thought you were dead," she said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "We've been looking for you for _hours_. You could've gotten yourself killed, idiot. _This_ is exactly what I meant by you needing to let me handle everything. You never think."

"Of course I think!" Kiel coughed, trying to wriggle out of her hold. "Just got trampled by rocks. Let . . . go . . ."

Charm obeyed and released him, then scanned him up and down with her robotic eye. "You don't seem seriously injured. Just a slight leg and stomach injury." She sighed loudly, shaking her head. "It's extraordinary to see what you would do for Magisteria."

Kiel shivered. "Believe me, I question it myself." He gestured at the world around them. "How did this happen? Everything's _gone_. Did someone attack Quanterium?"

Solemnly, Charm nodded, curling her fists into balls. "It was _Nobody_. I know it was him."

His eyes widened, and he began to clench and unclench his fists. Was she serious? Nobody — the villian that was already destroying the worlds with his pure possibility — has now destroyed Quanterium just because he _felt_ like it? He tried to feel some kind of anger or revenge, but right now, he could only feel sadness. All of the sudden, the danger felt more real than ever. His world had been destroyed, and now, this was what would happen to every fictional world if they didn't defeat Nobody.

"Kiel?" Charm asked, snapping a finger in front of his face. She looked slightly irritated now, just like she always did when she was around Kiel. "Are you listening to me?"

"Huh?" Kiel forced a wink. "Oh, of course I am. I was just—"

"Kiel!"

He glanced over his shoulder to see another person barreling towards him, appearing from the cloud of dust that coated the air. He felt a surge of relief go through him, and despite everything that had just happened, he grinned. It was Bethany. She was alive! He limped towards her, trying to close the distance between them faster. Seconds later, they crashed into each other, and Kiel immediately held her close.

"Kiel," Bethany repeated, her voice muffled. Her hands were clutching the back of his shirt, and her head was buried into his chest. "I'm so glad you're _alive_! We couldn't find you anywhere. I can't believe you ran off like that!"

"I'm okay, Beth," Kiel said, closing his eyes as he hugged her back. "Turns out that Dr. Verity was lying about holding Magisterians captive." He coughed violently. "He was going to kill me, but then, the whole building went down. I don't know what happened to him."

Bethany sighed, still holding onto him. "It's almost like you don't have a conscience," she whispered. "Don't you ever stop to think, 'wow, I definitely shouldn't have done that' after you do something?"

That made Kiel laugh, in spite of the situation. "No." He pulled away to give her a confused look. "Everything I do is intended. I try to live without regrets. It makes life easier that way."

She rolled her eyes, but the relieved smile was evident on her face. "You're crazy."

Then, he glanced at the ruins of Quanterium again, and his smile dissolved. Bethany stared sadly at him, then reached up and wiped something from his cheek. "I'm really sorry."

He turned to look at her, still feeling dazed. "For what?"

"For all of this." She looked around them. "Quanterium getting destroyed by Nobody. I had no idea he was going to do that! Now he's _really_ going to pay." He noticed for the first time that her eyes were slightly red, but he didn't say anything.

"Oh, he totally is. It's okay," Kiel assured her. "It wasn't your fault for what happened." He glanced at Charm. "So, what's going to happen to the Quanterians?"

"They're being transported to Magisteria for safety," Charm said.

"Magisteria?"

" _Yes_ , Magisteria." She gave him an annoyed look. "Why, did you have a better idea? I had nowhere else to send them."

Kiel frowned. "But I thought that if Nobody destroyed Quanterium, he would've destroyed Magisteria, too."

"Well, for some reason he didn't. Until we can rebuild Quanterium, that's the only place to put them."

"Sounds fair enough." Kiel shrugged. "There should be plenty of places for them to stay until that happens."

"Let's get out of here," Bethany said, leading them across the rubble.

"Agreed," Kiel said, not wanting to be here any longer than he had to. In his weakened state, he nearly tripped a few times due to the unsteadiness of the ground. They continued walking until they reached the other three, who weren't very far away.

As soon as Owen spotted them, a grin spread across his face. He looked as though he'd been crying, but all signs of unhappiness went away as he ran to Kiel and threw his good arm around him. "Kiel! You're actually alive!"

Smiling, Kiel hugged his best friend back as tightly as he could. It took him a moment to notice that Owen had begun crying. Or maybe he'd been crying already. Kiel felt horrible. Had his friends really believed he was dead? Once they pulled apart, Kiel winked at him, which he knew always made his friends feel better. "Hey, it's okay! There's no need to cry. I'm fine!"

Owen smiled brightly, wiping his face with some obvious embarrassment as fresh tears rolled down his cheeks. "I know! We were all just really worried about you. I'm glad you're okay."

"Of course I am!" Kiel smiled back. "Nothing can kill me, Owen. It'll take a _lot_ more than a bunch of rocks to do that."

Charm snorted. "They weren't _rocks_. It was rubble, which is waste or rough fragments of stone, brick, concrete. Rocks are a solid mineral material made out of—"

"Yeah, yeah." He chuckled. "I know what rocks are."

"Do you?"

Kiel winked at her, and she sighed. Once Owen moved back, Gwen hugged Kiel tightly, almost tight enough to make the air leave his lungs. "I never doubted for a second that you were alive!"

"Who told you I was dead?" Kiel jokingly asked once he pulled away, but he was unable to stop himself from coughing.

"A man," Gwen said. "He was rescuing people, and he had some of those flying robots look for you."

"But they didn't find you," Bethany said.

"Oh, that makes sense. Those robots are completely unreliable," Kiel said. "They probably needed to be rebuilt, or something. That's why they couldn't find me."

"Kiel Gnomenfoot, _what_ did you just say?" Charm demanded. "Robots are far more reliable than magic will ever be!"

"I'll have to disagree on that one."

"That's it." Charm took out her ray guns. "You're being too annoying. I am _so_ ray gunning you—"

" _What_?" Bethany asked, as Kiel held his hands up in defense.

Orion didn't move, releasing a sigh. "I don't have time for this."

"I do," Charm said, aiming her ray guns at Kiel.

"Hey!" Kiel shouted. "Enough with trying to shoot people! Aren't we friends?"

"Charm, put them down!" Owen shouted, pushing Charm's ray guns back down. "Those were on stun right?" he asked. Charm gave him a death glare, and he quickly backed away.

"Hey, guys, please break it up!" Gwen said, trying to lighten the mood. "We aren't here to fight each other." Kiel shot Charm an annoyed look, which she returned.

"Okay!" Bethany stepped in between Kiel and Charm, holding her hands up. "This isn't at all important. We should get going. We still have one last person to find before we can go fight Nobody." She glanced at Owen, who smiled.

"Her name is Kara. I'm not sure where she is . . . or if we'll even be able to find her, but we'll have to try," Owen said. Kiel remembered her from what he'd read in _Pick The Plot_. He knew nothing about her aside from the fact that she was a time-traveler, but he knew she'd been a great friend to Owen, so he was looking forward to meeting her.

"Kara?" Kiel said. "She was in that time prison with you, right?"

"Yeah," Owen said, his face visibly paling at the mention of the time prison.

Bethany slid the backpack off her shoulders and held it open for Owen look through. However, he'd only stuck his hand through for a few seconds before he pulled it out with a gasp. "It's not there."

" _What's_ not there?" Orion asked.

"The book," Owen said. He stared at them. "Kara's book. It's not there!"

"What?" Kiel frowned. "Where'd it go?" Taking the bag from Bethany's hands, he looked inside it to find a pile of Owen's clothes and a few water bottles that were still there. But aside from that, the Kara Dox book was missing.

"That looks suspicious," Orion said, peering into the backpack as well. "Someone must've stolen it."

"Why would anyone want to steal a book?" Kiel asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Hey, books are important, too!" Owen insisted. "Anyone could've stolen it if they wanted to."

"But I had the backpack on the entire time," Bethany said. "The book couldn't have just fallen out. And your other stuff is still in there."

"Exactly. So someone must've taken it."

"I didn't _see_ anyone take it!"

"You probably weren't looking when it happened," Orion said, and she gave him a look.

" _Or_ it could've just fallen out," Charm said, tapping her foot in annoyance. "It's not rocket science. You probably had it open when the buildings collapsed, and it could've fallen out then."

"Yeah," Kiel agreed.

"Maybe we can get another one!" Gwen said, smiling encouragingly. "Doesn't your library have hundreds of books?"

"Yeah, it does," Owen said, his face suddenly brightening. "Let's go back to the library. We could get some supplies, and we should be able to find Kara's book there too." He looked at Bethany.

"Okay," Bethany said, giving him a tired smile as she put the backpack back on.

It seemed that they were all worn out, especially after all the craziness that had happened today from jumping into Gwen's world to searching for Orion to fighting the Science Police. Right now, all Kiel really wanted was some sleep before they did anything else. They grabbed each other's hands, and Kiel looked away from his friends for a moment to stare at the destroyed world of Quanterium. His chest ached, and it wasn't only from the physical pain.

He wished there was something he could've done to prevent it, but he realized that there was no way to fix it. Not until they saved the rest of the worlds. Kiel also intended to enjoy fighting Nobody, especially after he'd just destroyed Quanterium. None of the fictional worlds deserved this. The last thing Kiel wanted was for more fictional worlds to suffer because of Nobody, just like his had. And hopefully, it wouldn't be too late to save them all.

* * *

Darkness was what Kara opened her eyes to, which she'd become accustomed to over the last few weeks. As always, the small room was silent. Kara rose unsteadily to her feet and starting pacing around the room to give herself some exercise, since she was constantly locked in here without anything to do. She held her hands out in front of her, which gave her some kind of warning before she accidentally slammed into the wall, which had happened countless times during her imprisonment here.

It was day sixteen, and she was no closer to achieving any kind of freedom.

It was five days since the incident with the time agents, when they'd taken Kara out of her cell to retrieve her memories. Ever since then, she hadn't left her dark prison cell, and she felt lonelier than she'd ever been — possibly in her entire life. The solitary confinement was just another punishment that the time agents were giving her, she reminded herself. Somehow, she _could_ get through this.

She didn't want to stay here forever, in a place where she didn't have any freedom. The time agents acted like she would be here for the rest of her life, so she knew that she didn't have a choice. It was almost torturous, but she held onto the hope that her world wouldn't be destroyed in the future if she was in prison. But would being locked up change anything about the future? Even when she was in the last time prison, nothing had seemed to change.

She hated the time agents with a passion, and the device they'd put on her had been painful, but she often wished that she hadn't given up when she'd been so close. With the device, they could see into her memories, and they'd be able to locate the exact moments where Kara had ruined time. If only she'd tried to stay longer, there might've been a great opportunity to stop her world from being destroyed in the future.

That was Kara's only chance, and she'd wasted it by giving into the pain. She knew it wasn't _her_ fault for stopping the process — because her head probably would've exploded if she hadn't — but a part of her still thought it was. Now that she'd messed up, the time agents weren't going to give her another chance. That had been her only shot to save the world . . . if it even _could_ be saved . . . and now that opportunity was lost to her too, if the time agents had even been telling the truth.

In the past, she'd tried thousands of times to stop that outcome, but every time she time-traveled to the future, her world was _always_ destroyed. _And_ it was always her fault. No matter what she did, no matter what she tried to change, the world always ended up in ruins because of her. The only person left to blame for it was herself.

However, as much as she convinced herself that she was meant to be locked up to keep the rest of the world safe, Kara knew that she didn't deserve _this_. The solitary confinement, everything the time agents put her through, the feeling of hopelessness that was only growing . . . it was all too much. She had to get out of here if she could. It felt like she was stuck in a nightmare, and no one was around to wake her.

It might've been safer for the rest of the world for her to be here, but for Kara, she felt trapped. The days she spent locked in solitary confinement were only growing worse, and she wasn't sure if she was starting to go crazy or not. If she hadn't yet, she would soon. At every moment, she was unhappy, and she thought constantly about all of her mistakes when she'd been messing around with time, trying to prevent a future that kept happening.

Sometime in the past couple of days, a new thought had occurred to her: everything that had happened in the future . . . was it really _her_ fault? Did she really deserve all of this suffering? Of course she didn't! No one did.

And even though all the signs pointed that the future was her fault, she was starting to wonder if it wasn't all true. Maybe there were others to blame, like the Countess and her daughter, Dolores. Maybe all of the time-travelers had something to do with it, or maybe the time agents did, too. Maybe it wasn't _all_ Kara's fault. Or maybe none of it was her fault at all.

No, who was she kidding? That was a ridiculous idea! It was _definitely_ her fault. Her future selves had said so, the Countess said so, her fellow time prisoners had said so, and even the time agents had said so. The only person who'd denied that idea was Owen, but he was probably only saying that to make her feel better.

At this point, Kara would've traded time-traveling in an heartbeat just so she could get out of this place and see Owen again. She would do it even if it cost her in the future. As much as she feared the world would be destroyed, she feared never seeing Owen again even more. Aside from her future selves, he was her only real friend.

Kara missed him more than she thought possible. She told herself that she would see him again someday, which gave her something to be happy about even though it might never come true. If she got to see him at least one last time, it would make up for all the pain she'd gone through in the last few weeks. It would make up for everything. She wouldn't feel trapped or uncertain anymore; she'd feel happy.

But there was no way she was getting out of this prison, whether she wanted to or not. The time agents would keep her here until she either turned crazy or old, and she would have to accept the truth that she would never see him again. It was just wishful thinking, anyway. She would have to be dreaming if she ever saw him again.

Owen had promised that he'd come back for her, but in all honestly, she didn't think he would. And as much as she'd love to see him again, she also didn't want him getting hurt. Then again, the time agents' facility was somewhere completely unknown and hidden, so Kara didn't think he'd be able to come here anyway. Even _she_ didn't know where this place was, since she'd been locked in a dark room for majority of her time here.

Suddenly a bit lightheaded from all of the walking, Kara blindly sat back down on the ground and felt around for her tray of breakfast. That was another thing that made the darkness super inconvenient. Once or twice, she'd accidentally knocked over a glass of water that she hadn't seen. Ever since then, she'd tried to be more careful when looking for her food. After all, the time agents weren't going to make her another one if she knocked it over.

Sliding her hands across the floor, Kara slowly crawled to the direction of the door, feeling hopeful that her breakfast might be waiting for her. She groaned when she realized it wasn't there. Well, _that_ was perfect.

Breakfast was the most important meal of the day, and the time agents hadn't even given it to her yet! At least the last prison had been better at that. Now she would have to wait until they gave her the food, which might not happen for a few minutes or a few hours. There was never a way to be sure.

But it wasn't like the gave her the most appetizing breakfast, anyway. They usually just gave her oatmeal or toast or sometimes even fruit, but Kara would've preferred to have pancakes or waffles. She thought about requesting that they make it for her (mostly just to see if they'd actually do it), but quickly denied that idea since it probably wouldn't be amusing to the time agents.

Placing her chin in her hands, Kara kept her eyes on the door, trying but failing to be patient. Why was this taking so long? If she had her time bracelet still, she could've jumped forward in time and gotten her breakfast right away. Of course, if she _did_ have her time bracelet then she wouldn't be locked up in this prison anymore.

The slot in the door suddenly opened, and a bright light washed into the room. Kara blinked several times as her eyes struggled to adjust. As always, this was the most interesting part of the day, since something was actually happening. It gave her reassurance that she wasn't the only person here, but sometimes it felt like she was. She watched with interest as her tray of food was placed on the ground, and the person's hand drew back. The slot was closed, and the light disappeared.

Kara sighed as she placed the bowl into her lap and began eating. It was oatmeal again, but she had to remind herself that it was a good thing that the time agents were feeding her. She wouldn't have been surprised if they only gave her _one_ meal a day. Everyone hated her here.

Within the second that she had finished, the hand reached through the slot again to grab the food. An idea formed in Kara's head — one that occurred to her on the spot — and she latched her hand out to grab the wrist of the person. She heard a gasp of surprise from the other side of the door as the person tried moving their hand away, but Kara held on.

"Please, I want to try again," she said. "With the machine that's supposed to change the future, _my_ future. And if you won't let me out then . . ." She paused, glancing around the room. "Then I'll break out of here and send you to the _worst_ possible spot in time. One where there is no technology at all!"

Luckily, she didn't have to try very hard to be threatening, because the guard replied in a shaky voice, "I-I'm just the food deliverer. I'm not allowed to let anyone out, especially _you_." His tone indicated disgust. "But I'll talk to the head of the facility. She's been working with a different time prisoner for the past few days."

Kara blinked and let go of the guard's wrist. "Who?"

"The Countess."

"What?" She gasped. "She's working with _her?"_

"I'll talk to her," the guard said, ignoring her question and closing the slot.

Kara slumped back as darkness filled the room once again. She couldn't believe that out of every single prisoner to pick for that task, the _Countess_ was working with the head of the facility. Why would anyone in their right mind _want_ to work with the Countess? She was even more dangerous than Kara, and had most likely gone crazy already from the solitary confinement.

The door suddenly swung open, which always came as a surprise to Kara. It didn't happen very often, since she was locked inside a dark prison cell for the majority of the time. She jumped as a bright light flooded into the room, burning into her eyes as if she was staring into the sun. She blinked several times, squinting her eyes as a guard stood in the doorway.

"Kara Dox, come with me," the guard ordered in a deep, monotone voice, similar to how every single guard here sounded. The guards sounded almost robotic, and the fact that their faces were always covered with black helmets only added to that emotionless facade. Kara would've felt better if she could see their expressions, although she guessed many of them looked at her with the same mix of disgust, hatred, and fear.

She quickly scrambled to her feet, internally thanking whoever the guard was that delivered her food for contacting the head of the agency about her request. She didn't know why she wanted to do this again so badly, especially after the process had been unbearably painful. It was probably a crazy idea. No, it was _definitely_ a crazy idea. But Kara didn't care about that part right now. She cared more about what the outcome would be.

It was going to be excruciatingly painful, and the thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. But she needed to force herself to try again, at least one last time before she gave up. If it actually ended up working, she'd feel content. If she could do anything to prevent the world from being destroyed, she would have to do this. Just to see if it worked. She'd only regret it if she did nothing. And if it didn't work, then at least she'd tried her best to stop the horrible events in the future from happening.

Following the guard, Kara felt her fear slowly build up as she looked all around her, where there were several prison guards positioned along the hallway. But she was not afraid of them. Or that was the lie that she told herself, at least. She knew that the guards wouldn't hurt her as long as she didn't disobey, so for now, she was fine.

She didn't know how long that would last, however. Trouble seemed drawn to her like a magnet, so it was impossible for her to follow the rules correctly. Especially when it came to time travel. Back when she'd been time-traveling all the time, the amount of times she'd received violation after violation had been countless. It'd always been hard for Kara to follow the rules when the rules included time travel requirements.

Kara trailed behind the guard as he led her down the same route she'd gone a few days ago. They came across the same room from last time, and Kara felt herself shiver as she watched the guard scan his card against the door. Once the door was unlocked, he held it open and escorted her through. As they entered the room, Kara saw that it looked no different from last time, with the same large machine in the corner and the woman from before standing next to it.

The woman stared at Kara without even a smile. "We were just finishing up with our session." Kara remembered the last time she'd seen her, back when the woman had ordered her out of the room when she'd failed with their machine. This time, she would try her hardest not to fail.

"We?" Kara questioned, and that was when she noticed there was another person in the other corner of the room.

"Hello, Ms. Dox," growled a low, familiar voice. Kara looked over to see a woman with very messy bright white hair, along with an elaborate gray cloak wrapped around her shoulders. "It's been too long since I've seen you. How is solitary confinement treating you? I hope you're suffering."

Kara immediately held her fists up, prepared for a fight. Then she noticed that the Countess's hands were bound with chains, and a guard was standing next to her, watching her carefully. Kara glanced down at her hand where her magical glove usually was, and was slightly surprised to see that it was no longer there. That made sense. Any weapons would've been taken away from the time prisoners, and the Countess had possibly the most dangerous weapon of all.

"I'm doing fine," Kara said in the calmest voice she could muster, although her blood began to boil at the sight of the Countess. It was hard not to get angry when the Countess had purposely tried to kill both her and Owen, the had stolen all of the time bracelets and left Kara with nothing but a broken one.

" _How_ _lovely_ ," the Countess spat, her words like ice. There was a crazed look in her eyes, one Kara wasn't sure that she'd noticed before.

"You are excused, Countess," the other woman said, and the Countess flashed her an angry look before the guard led her towards the door. As the Countess got closer to Kara, she suddenly latched out and grabbed Kara's wrist. The guard immediately took out a gun and aimed it at the Countess, but she didn't seem fazed.

She leaned towards Kara, and Kara tried moving away, but she only held her wrist tighter. "You owe me a debt, Kara Dox. You are a wretched, horrible girl, but I chose not to kill you. Even after you got me locked in here, _and_ after you got me locked in the Time Security Agency, I still chose not to kill you. Now I know that it was a mistake, and I should've gotten rid of you when I had the chance. Once I escape from here, I swear on my annoying daughter Dolores that I'll go back in time and _get rid of you myself_ —"

"You won't be escaping anywhere," the guard said in his monotone voice, but the Countess was only looking at Kara.

"I do owe a debt," Kara told her, instantly thinking of Owen, the one person who'd been there for her through everything. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "But it's _not_ to you. I will never owe you anything. And just so you know, none of us will ever be escaping. They have high security in here!" With some effort, she ripped her wrist away from the Countess.

"You can't change what's to come, Kara," the Countess hissed, glaring at her. "The future is _meant_ to happen—"

"Not this one!"

"And if it were _me_ in charge, I wouldn't be trying to stop it!" she finished. "Do you think it works, this method that the time agents are doing?" She shook her head, chuckling darkly. "No, of course it doesn't. You know why? Because the future cannot be—"

"Hey!" the guard shouted, pointing the gun at both of them now. "Prisoners are not allowed to talk to each other. Come with me to your cell, _now_."

Giving her one last look, the Countess was grabbed by the guard and led hastily out of the room, leaving Kara alone with the other woman and a group of guards. Kara took a deep, shaky breath, trying to gather her composure. Her thoughts were a mess. Was the Countess right? Was the method that the time agents were using not working, or was the Countess only saying that to make Kara second-guess herself?

"Sit," the woman instructed, and Kara nervously walked over to the chair and sat down. The metal was cold against her legs, and she shivered. Her heart pounded as the head device was brought over to her, the same one that had made her feel excruciating pain. But there was no backing out of it now. If she could do something to save the world, she had to attempt this again. She had to make up for her faults somehow.

Instead of taking her by the shoulders like last time, one of the guards forcibly grabbed both of her hands, tying them behind her back with a thick rope. Apparently they didn't want her removing the device again, which worried her further. She flinched as the device was strapped tightly to her head, and the guards stepped away to stand next to the wall.

"Let's hope you cooperate better than last time," the woman said, typing something into the machine. "We're going to begin. Be still, and _don't_ move."

"Okay," Kara whispered, but she found it hard not to fidget or squirm, especially since she was very afraid of what the machine would do to her. She watched as the woman pressed a button, and just like last time, a barrage of images flashed across Kara's vision. She sucked in a breath. Pain filled her head, steadily increasing with each second. She flinched, clenching her fists hard in an attempt to block out the pain and the fear.

As the pain worsened, she shifted around uncomfortably and struggled against her bonds. She reminded herself over and over again that this was necessary, that this was important and it could save lives. She had to keep going. She _could_ keep going. She just had to get through the pain, and then she'd be okay.

Kara heard the woman talking to her, but she could hardly hear anything anymore. The images flashed through her head so fast that they overwhelmed her. Her vision began to blacken around the edges, so she closed her eyes, hoping that would help. The pain only got worse from there. It surged through her entire body, mainly her head. Her body shook intensely, and she bit her lip hard as tears filled her eyes. Unable to stay still, she fought against her bonds even harder, desperate for the pain to end.

And then suddenly it did.

Wearily, Kara slowly breathed in and out, grateful that the pain was finally lessening. Her entire body screamed in pain, but she hardly cared now that it was over. Her eyes fluttered open, and she tiredly looked over at the woman, feeling too weak to concentrate on a single thing.

Tears ran down her face as she stared at the women, who was peering at something in the machine. This went on for what felt like hours — although it was probably only a few minutes — before the woman finally lifted a tiny microphone and began talking into it. "I have scanned all Kara's memories. We'll need to be very precise about altering her time violations. If we don't get the exact precision, any miscalculation could lead to the destruction of the world."

A muffled voice responded from the microphone, and the woman stepped away from the machine. She pointed a finger at the guards. "Watch her." Then, she pressed a button on her own time bracelet, and she vanished.

She'd barely been gone for a second before she reappeared in the room, looking shocked. "This can't be true."

"What?" one of the guards asked.

The woman looked at Kara in disbelief. "I have changed all of her mistakes in time, but it seems that none of that has changed the future."

Was she kidding? Kara's hope fell. "W-What?"

"But that's not all," the woman continued. "It seems that Kara isn't the cause of the destruction of the world anymore, but someone else is. And if I'm calculating this correctly, there are also several more involved. And changing her mistakes has only made things worse. The destruction of the world has gotten closer."

"Closer? What do you _mean_?" Kara asked, barely able to process what she was hearing. She grinned a little, unable to help herself. She felt her heart leap at the woman's words, which was something she'd never heard before. The end of the world wasn't her fault? How could that be? It suddenly made her hopeful, despite the other things that she was hearing.

The woman only glared at her. "It seems that the world will be ending in four days. We'll have to do some serious adjustments if we want to improve anything. You've been no help whatsoever." She gestured at one of the guards, and Kara's good mood abruptly faded. "Take her back to her room! She's never getting out of there again!"

* * *

 _"_ _And the distance could kill us, or make us strong. It ain't right to be apart from you for so long . . ."_


	31. Prison Break

**_Birds (by Imagine Dragons)_**

" _Seasons, they will change. Life will make you grow. Dreams will make you cry, cry, cry . . ."_

* * *

When Owen woke up the next morning, his first thought was that the previous day — escaping from the hotel with Bethany and Kiel, finding Gwen and Orion and Charm, fighting Science Police, _confessing_ the truth to Charm, and watching Quanterium get destroyed — had only been a dream. It had been a whirlwind of events.

But then, he found himself laying uncomfortably on the orange carpet of his mother's library instead of his own comfy bed, which normally _never_ happened (except when Fowen had burned down his mother's library in the fictional world). A mix of relief, fear, and excitement went through him once he realized that it hadn't been a dream after all.

Yawning, Owen slowly pushed himself off the ground, feeling slightly sore from sleeping on the ground. His friends were all still asleep, aside from Charm and Bethany, who he guessed had woken up before him. The inside of the library was quiet and peaceful, and for now, he couldn't hear any sounds of fictional monsters that might be outside. Bright sunlight came in from the windows, illuminating the library with a warm, friendly glow.

Owen always felt most at home when he was here, in his mother's library. He was free to truly be himself, since books were what made him feel safe and secure. Before he had friends, books had always been his escape from reality. They'd always been there for him when he was having a rough day or simply wanted to enjoy himself. And somehow, waking up with endless bookcases in front of him was enough to make him feel better about things.

Despite being eerily empty, Owen found a source of comfort just by being here, surrounded by all of the books. After everything that had happened yesterday, it felt nice just to be back in the library, at least for a little while. The familiarity of it all made him almost believe that everything was back to normal, even though it wasn't. Not yet. Not until Nobody was defeated and the fictional worlds were safe.

After the ordeal they'd gone through last night, all of them had been exhausted and had agreed (with some reluctance mostly on Charm's and Orion's part) that sleeping in the library was the safest option. Owen had slept in here a few times before, but that had been several years ago, and he'd brought a sleeping bag with him then.

Now, he probably should've thought ahead by bringing blankets and pillows to the library. That would've been helpful! But who knew that they'd be sleeping in here? Owen was so used to going back to his house and sleeping in his bed after they went on adventures, and it was weird to remember that he didn't actually _have_ a house anymore.

The library wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, but Owen would've preferred that over sleeping in the now-destroyed Quanterium. Even a day later, he still couldn't believe that Quanterium was completely destroyed. He'd grown up loving the Kiel Gnomenfoot books. The characters had always inspired him for the longest time, especially Kiel. And now that Quanterium was gone because of Nobody, it all felt like a bad dream.

He realized that they really _did_ have to hurry, because if they weren't fast enough, Nobody would just keep destroying the fictional worlds until nothing was left. And Owen loved books and the fictional worlds too much to ever let that happen. Luckily they still had some time before the pure possibility absorbed everything, so Owen held onto the belief that they wouldn't be too late to save the worlds.

First, all they needed to do was find Kara as fast as possible. That shouldn't be too hard, right? She'd been taken by time agents to their secret facility with a location that Owen didn't know, but that wasn't going to stop him from searching. And if that didn't work, they could always use Kiel's location spell to find her.

After three weeks of not seeing Kara, and especially after the way things had gone with Charm yesterday, Owen just had to find her again. The very idea of seeing her again made him excited and hopeful, and it sent butterflies flying around in his stomach. He'd missed her _so much_. For weeks, she'd only existed in his memory.

Owen only hoped that they'd be able to find her. He had no idea where she actually was. But he'd made a promise that he'd rescue her from the time agents, and that was exactly what he intended to do. He didn't want to imagine what might happen if they _couldn't_ find her, even though it was definitely possible that they wouldn't be able to.

An unusual noise from somewhere in the back of the library made Owen jump. He felt a shiver go down his spine. What was that? He rubbed his eyes, then glanced at his sleeping friends before hesitantly walking in the direction of the noise. Uh oh.

What if more monsters had escaped from their books? What if something _worse_ than a monster was there? This kind of thing always happened in horror movies, when the person unwittingly walked into a trap and got themselves kidnapped or killed. It was unlikely, but Owen did _not_ want that to happen to him.

If there was anything he didn't like, it was horror movies. He and Bethany had gone to a few over the years they'd known each other, and while Bethany had somehow enjoyed them, Owen found himself screaming every time a jump-scare happened. What was the point of horror movies, anyway? The only thing that Owen learned from them was that he should never walk into a dark, empty basement alone.

Maybe he'd need a weapon for this, just in case there was an actual monster in the library. He carefully picked up a Twilight throwing star from the ground, which was next to where Orion slept. It was heavier than he thought it'd be, and he dropped it instantly to the ground. The carpet muffled the sound a bit, but the throwing star still made a noise when it hit the ground, loud enough to make his friends stir.

Owen cringed, waiting for Orion to wake up and yell at him, but nothing happened. Orion continued to sleep, not even noticing that Owen had taken his Twilight throwing star. Surprisingly, he even looked relatively unthreatening and peaceful when he was asleep. Too bad he was a lot harsher when he was awake. Even for a superhero, Orion was _very_ intense.

Owen quickly picked the Twilight throwing star back up, gingerly holding it away from his body. He heard the noise again, and he instinctively flinched. He edged out into the aisle and slowly crept towards the noise, his heart beating fast in his chest. As he got to the back of the library, he awkwardly raised the Twilight throwing star in the same way he'd seen Bethany and Orion do it.

It felt heavy in his hand, and it didn't help that his hand was shaking. He wasn't even sure if he had strength to throw it, but he'd have to try if they were in danger. He took a deep breath, nodding to himself. He could do this, right? No, probably not. He was investigating this on his own instead of waking up Kiel or someone else to help him. But that would take too long, and Owen was so close. He had to do _something._

He pressed his back against the bookcase, then took another few deep breaths before making his decision. "Who's there?" Owen shouted, jumping out of his hiding spot. He waved the Twilight throwing star in hopes that it would scare the monster away. To his horror, he saw that it was something much worse than anything that his imagination could conjure up.

 _Charm_ was standing there, staring at him as irritation passed over her face. There were holographic images floating in the air in front of her. It looked like she'd been drawing them. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Owen blushed, and immediately hid the Twilight throwing star behind his back. Whoops. "Oh! Sorry! I thought you were a—" He cut himself off as she turned back to her work and continued to draw images in the air, which appeared to be scientific equations of some sort. Clearly, she wasn't interested in what he'd been saying.

He hesitantly walked over to her, despite every part of him telling him to back away and give her space. He watched her for a bit before glancing at the back of her head, which had some weird device plugged into it. The device almost looked like it was recharging her. He wasn't sure exactly what it was doing, but it was making the same noise that he'd heard earlier, which at least confirmed the strange noise.

"Um, what are you doing?" Owen asked.

"What does it _look_ like I'm doing?" she asked, not even looking at him as she drew some equations. "I've been making blueprints for weapons just in case we need them to fight Nobody."

"Cool!" He smiled, hoping that she might smile in return. "Can I help?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Charm turned to glare at him. "First of all, you don't know anything about building or designing weapons. And second, I thought I was making it clear. Out of everyone here, you're the _last_ person I'd let help me. The very last. Even _Kiel_ would be a step-up from you, since, you know, he's not a _liar_."

That stung. Owen stepped back, feeling a sharp pain in his heart. But he knew he deserved it. If he was in her shoes, he probably would've felt just as betrayed.

"Well, what kind of weapons were you thinking of?" he asked, hoping she might at least open up to him about that.

"If I tell you the answer, will you leave me alone?"

He sighed. "Charm, I really am sorry. I can't even begin to express how sorry I am. It's unforgivable, I _know_! I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I would _never_ do that intentionally. Not to anyone."

"Do you _want_ me to ray-gun you?" Charm asked.

Owen laughed nervously. "No?"

"Good, because I'm not going to waste it on you," she replied coldly, making his heart hurt even more. "I don't care about a stupid apology, either. I just want you to stop talking to me."

He sucked in a breath, his heart sinking even lower. He wished that he could do something to gain her friendship back, because now, the only thing that he wanted to be was her friend. But unfortunately, that would never happen. "Is . . . is that really want you want?"

She rolled her eyes in response, turning back to the images in front of her. Owen glanced again at the device connected to the back of her head, and he pointed at it. "What's that for?"

Charm slammed her hands down, and Owen leapt away. The holographic images vanished immediately, and she glared at him in such a way that made him freeze on the spot. "What did I say about you talking to me?"

"I-I—"

"Stop doing it! It's not difficult, _Owen_." She let out a breath. "That device in the back of my head works as a charger for my robotic body. _Now_ can you leave me alone?"

"Yeah. Sorry, I'll do that," Owen breathed, his face hot with embarrassment. He had no idea what to say. It seemed that he'd have to give Charm some space until she was less mad at him, which probably wouldn't happen for _years_ at this point.

He walked away, staring down at the Twilight throwing star in his hand as he made his way back to his friends. Hopefully they would all be awake by now. The sooner they could get to Kara, the better. Owen knew they'd need a good plan, too, since they'd have to figure out how to find those time agents first. Maybe the Kara Dox books would have some information about where she was?

"What are you _doing_?" Bethany's voice rang out from right next to him, and he screamed in surprise, which made him immediately drop the Twilight throwing star. It fell onto his foot, cutting a small hole in the tip of his shoe. He looked up to find her halfway out of a book, glaring at him.

"Hey, it's not like I hit a toe or something!" Owen said.

She pushed herself the rest of the way out of the book, panting slightly. Before he could even pick it up, she grabbed the Twilight throwing star from the ground. "What were you even doing with that? It's mine!"

He tried not to blush, and he looked away. "Nothing, okay?" He glanced down at the book at her feet. "What were you doing in that book?"

Now it was her turn to look embarrassed. She picked it up and showed him the cover. It was _Goodnight Moon_. "I used to sleep here every night," she explained. "I did it all the time when I was twelve, before I was split in half. And also, I just didn't feel like sleeping on the ground."

Owen felt his irritation building up. "So you chose to sleep there instead of on the floor, with the rest of us?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Footsteps were heard behind them, and they both turned around to see Kiel walking over to them, rubbing his eyes. He was notably cleaner than he had been last night, but his clothes and parts of his face were still mostly covered in soot.

"Why is everyone screaming?" He glanced around them, looking confused and disappointed. "Did I miss anything exciting? Did we get attacked?"

"No." Bethany pointed a thumb at Owen. "That was Owen."

"Hey, it wasn't intentional," Owen protested. He wasn't sure if it was possible to blush this much. "I was just scared! You would be scared if someone randomly appeared right next to you, wouldn't you?"

"Nope. I don't get scared _that_ easily," Bethany said, grinning a little. Kiel laughed.

Owen rolled his eyes, only feeling annoyance now. "I'm going to find Kara's book," he said, pushing past Bethany to get to the sci-fi section.

"Want any help?" she called after him.

"No, thanks," Owen replied, a bit taken aback by how bitter his voice sounded. "I'll find it!"

"That's the spirit," Kiel said, and when he glanced back, the boy magician only gave him a wink.

He sighed. He knew it was wrong of him to take his frustrations out on his friends, but he couldn't help it. He felt so hopeless that he couldn't do anything about Charm, and it made him feel even worse that Kara was somewhere out there, probably suffering. But what could he do? At least he could do something for Kara, but he wished that Charm wouldn't treat him as if he were a piece of gum underneath her shoe. It made him feel terrible about himself.

Since he had every inch of the library memorized, it didn't take Owen long to find Kara's book. He found it sitting exactly where he'd last seen it, on the second to top shelf of the bookcase. It must've been a week ago since he'd last seen her book. He reached up for it, taking it in his good hand.

As he stared down at the cover for a few minutes, his irritation quickly subsided. He always felt better when he saw Kara, even if it was only on the front cover of a book. Hopefully he'd be seeing her in person soon, and this time, she wouldn't be taken away by some time agents.

Tucking the book under his arm, Owen walked back over to his friends, who were now all awake and talking to each other. On the way, he grabbed a few more books that looked useful for helping them break into the prison. He didn't see Charm, so he guessed she was still reprogramming herself . . . whatever _that_ meant. He cleared his throat, placing the books down on a table. "Got it."

Gwen came over to Owen's side, peering down at the Kara Dox book. "This is Kara?"

Owen smiled a little. "Yeah. She's a time-traveler. We escaped from the Time Security Agency together, but she was captured by these time agents, and they put her into a different prison."

She gasped. "That's horrible! Do you know if she's okay?"

He only shook his head. He already felt bad enough that she was locked up in another prison, but he felt even worse that he didn't know how she was doing. If the time agents were anything like the Time Security Agency instructors, she probably wasn't doing so well.

"Do you know where she is, exactly?" Kiel asked. "Maybe we can jump into a page where the prison is and break into it." A gleam of excitement appeared in his eyes. "I love breaking into places."

Owen opened his mouth to reply, but Orion was the one to answer first, not looking too happy about that idea. "We can't just _break_ into a place. I've never broken into a prison before, but I know that they're usually filled with guards. No, the smartest option is to sneak in from the back entrance or the window."

"Kid Twilight has a point," Charm said, and Owen looked over his shoulder to see her walking towards them. "But I think we could take on a bunch of guards. If we attack them head-on, they won't be able to compensate."

Orion shot her a look. "I'm not saying we can't, but being stealthy _is_ the easiest way to get in and out of a place."

"Plus if there are a lot of guards, we might not be able to fight them all," Bethany quietly added. She glanced at Owen and Kiel. "It'd be like when we broke into Doyle's school. There were tons of guards there."

"Yeah. There were." Kiel nodded.

"Except we _didn't_ break in," Owen reminded them. "I surrendered so we could get inside without fighting anyone."

"And that was a great plan!"

"But we can't do that here. I don't even know where this time prison is, or how many guards there are. And I don't think it'd be anywhere in Kara's books."

"Then we take Kiel's spell book with us," Bethany said. "If nothing else, we can use his location spell to find her."

"I thought of that too," Owen said. "But what if _that_ doesn't work?"

"My spells _always_ work," Kiel insisted. "I'm great at casting them!" He grinned. "Why _wouldn't_ it work?" Charm rolled her eyes.

Owen frowned. "It's not about that. I'm more worried that the location spell won't be able to find her _anywhere_."

"We'll find her!" Gwen said, smiling encouragingly. "We might not know _where_ she is, but maybe we can ask people where the prison is. They might know."

"They might not tell you," Charm muttered.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Owen said with a small smile, ignoring Charm's comment.

"So, what's the plan?" Bethany asked, crossing her arms. "We jump in there and use the location spell to find her? And if that doesn't work, we ask people if they know where the time prison is?"

He shrugged, glancing around at his friends' faces. He wished he knew more about the prison, so they could prepare better for it. The lack of knowledge made the break-in feel a lot more impossible. "I guess so. And then once we _do_ find the prison, we'll break in and get her out." He paused at the look on Orion's face. "And, um, don't worry, we'll be stealthy about it. It all depends on how many guards there are."

"Sounds good to me," Kiel said.

"But we might also need some other things to help us out, which is why I grabbed this," Owen said, pointing to one of the books on the table.

" _Alpha Predator_ ," Orion read slowly, his face blank. He looked up at Owen. "And why do we need that?"

"There are invisibility suits in there," Owen told him. "They also hide our heat, so no one would be able to detect us. That would probably be the easiest way to get into the prison."

Bethany frowned down at the book. "We used those when we broke into the Baker Street School."

"Did they work?" Gwen asked.

She nodded. "Really well, actually. Using them might not be a bad idea, but they're hard to get."

"If we're fighting the time agents as a group, we might not need them," Kiel pointed out.

"That's true," Owen muttered.

"What about this book?" Gwen pointed at another book among the pile, called _The Time Machine_.

"Oh." Owen blushed. "I only grabbed that in case we can't find a time bracelet for Kara. I mean, I'm sure we could find a time bracelet in the prison, but me and Kara had a lot of problems finding them when we were in the time prison. That's the whole reason she can time travel. Without a time bracelet, she doesn't have that power."

"Alright, I get it," Charm grumbled. "Let's just get this over with. As long as I get to ray-gun some guards, I'll be happy."

"But no hurting them," Gwen pleaded. "They're real people, too."

". . . Sure," the half-robotic girl muttered reluctantly, but her hard gaze softened.

Gwen seemed to relax, and she grinned. "Thank you!"

"If they attack us, we can't help that," Orion said as he leaned on his elbows over the table. "If any of you don't want to fight, you can just stay on the sidelines and let me handle this by sneaking into the prison. You all would just slow me down, anyway. I can find Kara quicker that way."

Bethany rolled her eyes. "We're not doing that!"

"Why? Because you can't be stealthy?"

She looked offended. "No. I _can_ be stealthy. Just because Dad says I'm not doesn't mean I can't be."

A smile crept onto Orion's face, but it faded as quickly as it had come.

"Besides, we're going to break in together!" Bethany continued, gesturing to their friends. "Something bad could happen if only one person goes in."

Owen nodded his agreement. "Exactly! We're going to need all the help we can get if we wanna rescue Kara."

"And why do we need this girl?" Charm asked, narrowing her eyes. "How exactly is she going to help us defeat Nobody?"

"She's a time-traveler, _and_ she's my friend," Owen said. He was a bit confused why Charm was even questioning this. They needed Kara's help. Not only that, but Owen had been waiting to rescue her for _weeks_. "We need her help, too."

"When do you want to leave?" Kiel asked him.

"Right now, if everyone's ready," Owen said, looking down at the table. "I don't want to wait any longer."

"Okay," Bethany said. She picked up the book from the table and opened it, flipping quickly towards the end of the book. Once she seemed to be satisfied with one of the pages, she placed the book at their feet. Everyone dispersed to grab their weapons (and in Gwen's case, her jetpack), and a few minutes later, they regrouped and jumped into Kara's book, prepared for anything.

The first thing that Owen noticed was how similar Kara's world looked to his. It wasn't an exact replica, like the fictional version of his town, but it had many of the same aspects. The building structures were relatively the same, as were the cars and the streets. The only difference was that people seemed to be wearing much brighter clothing than Owen was used to, and the cell phones in their hands looked enormous.

Other than that, nothing looked too out of place or different from his own world. And as far as he could tell, there wasn't a single time-traveler in sight.

"Where are we?" Charm demanded. She opened up her completely human-looking arm, revealing circuitry beneath it. A small radar dish pushed out of her forearm, and she looked around in confusion. "I'm not even picking up warp signatures. The only thing I can pick up is numerous disruptions across time."

Once the radar dish sunk itself back into her arm, Charm took out her ray guns. She pointed them at the people around them, who didn't pay their group much attention. The people gave them some weird glances — probably because of their clothing — but they continued walking down the streets, not bothering to talk to them.

"The question is _when_ are we," Owen said, barely able to contain his smile. When he saw the look on her face, his smile faded, and he turned to his less-angry friends. "It looks like we're somewhere in the past. That's all I know."

Bethany looked around them, her eyes wide. "Do you think we're in the 2000's?"

"I don't know. Did they _have_ phones back then?"

She snorted. "Wow, did your mom never tell you anything about that time? Of course they did. Cell phone were invented around 1970's, I think."

"I never knew that."

Charm sighed, tapping her foot. "Cell phones are toys for infants. But time traveling devices? Those are definitely more advanced. I learned how to make them in elementary school."

"Good for you," Orion said sarcastically. She glared at him.

Every time they passed someone, Owen glanced down at their wrists, searching for a time bracelet. But he didn't see any. Why didn't anyone have time bracelets? Were they hard to come by, or were they just illegal? He didn't know much about Kara's book series, other than that time traveling was considered illegal in the TSA's eyes. That was why a prison had been made, so anyone who disrupted the timeline could be put there.

But the whole thing didn't make much sense to Owen. Why was time-traveling illegal? If he could do time-travel, he definitely wouldn't sit around and stay in one timeline. He'd travel to all eras just for the fun of it. Maybe that was how Kara acted when she first became a time-traveler, simply enjoying herself as she traveled through time. It was a shame that she'd given it all up just to turn herself into the TSA, so she wouldn't destroy the world in the future.

Owen didn't really know the story, but he knew she held a lot of guilt about it. He wished he could've done something to make her feel better about the situation, because no one deserved to blame themselves for something that couldn't have been their fault. The same thing had happened with Bethany, when she'd blamed herself for her father's disappearance. And maybe it _was_ Kara's fate to destroy the world, but the future could always be changed, couldn't it? That was the point that plenty of movies about time travel had made.

Kiel nudged Owen in the side, a grin on his face. "Since Kara can time travel and all, I wonder if she could go to the future and see if they've made any more movies about me. Anything would be better than the first movie they made. It was nothing like the real version of my world!"

Charm raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"Don't worry," Kiel said. "You were in it too. It wasn't _all_ about me."

Orion turned to stare at Kiel, his face emotionless as usual. "Wait, someone made a movie about you?"

"Oh, yeah," Bethany said with a small laugh. "But it wasn't very good."

"It really wasn't," Kiel agreed.

"What's a movie?" Gwen asked curiously.

"Um, it's basically a story that's recorded with a camera," Owen explained. "It's like watching something in real life, but you're seeing it on a screen." He smiled. "We'll have to show you some movies later. I personally love superhero movies. Oh, and the _How To Train Your Dragon_ moviesand the Harry Potter movies were great, too."

Bethany groaned. "You're way too obsessed with those movies."

Owen glared at her. "That's not a bad thing!"

She grinned. "Of course not."

Kiel looked at him in surprise. "I didn't know there were Harry Potter movies. Why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't even finish the first chapter of _Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone_!" Owen said. "And then you wanted to know how it ended so you read the last page of the book!"

Gwen and Bethany laughed, while Kiel winked at him. "I don't really like to read books. I don't know why you got so overdramatic."

"Wow," Orion mumbled, looking almost amused.

Overdramatic? Was he joking? Owen scoffed. "Because—" He then bumped into someone, and he nearly tripped over his own feet. He quickly looked up to see an annoyed-looking man. "Um, sorry sir, I didn't see you there—" The sight of a time bracelet on the man's hand made him go silent, and the man huffed before shoving past Owen, continuing to walk down the sidewalk.

"Rude," Kiel muttered. " _That_ guy has no manners."

"What's wrong?" Bethany asked, frowning. "Do you know him?"

Owen shook his head, still staring after the man as an idea formed in his head. The man had a time bracelet, which meant that he was also a time-travelor. Could he know where the prison was? "No. But we should go after him. He has a time bracelet."

"Are you _sure_ it was a time bracelet?" Charm asked.

"I'm sure. If we catch up to him and ask him questions, we can find out where Kara is. He'll know. She's one of the most famous time-travelers here," Owen said in his most confident voice, trying to be more confident like Kiel. Just to prove it, he glanced at the boy magician and gave him an awkward wink.

Kiel gave him an odd look back. "Okay."

"Perfect!" Gwen exclaimed. "Let's go after him!"

"We can't just go—" Orion began, then sighed once Gwen began heading quickly through the crowd, gesturing for them to follow her. Owen kept his eyes out for the man he'd seen earlier, but since the streets were a bit crowded, it was hard to keep track. He was relatively shorter than the people walking in front of him, and he had to keep standing on his tiptoes to catch sight of the man again.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Bethany whispered to him as they hurried after the man, staying a short distance away so he wouldn't catch them following him.

"He's a time-traveler," Owen said, though he felt much of the same. "He'll have the answers we need."

"I know," she said. "But neither of us know anything about Kara's series. For all we know, this guy could be a villain."

Bethany had a point. Owen didn't know much about the villains from Kara's books, aside from the Countess and the agents from the Time Security Agency. But he figured that this man was only a random time-traveler, possibly just a background character. And if the man _was_ a villain, and tried to fight them, Owen felt confident that him and his five friends could handle it.

"We'll be careful," Owen said. "We just need to ask him some questions, and that's it."

She raised her eyebrows. "And you think that this random guy will know where Kara is?"

"Yeah! He's a time-traveler. A _time-traveler_ would know."

"Uh-huh."

"He would!"

"Sure," Bethany said. "Because _that_ makes total sense. I really don't like the idea of following some random guy around, Owen. If we get killed, I'm totally blaming you for this."

"So will I," Owen responded, shuddering a bit. Up ahead, the man ducked into an alleyway, disappearing from their sight. Owen sped up as much as he could without accidentally knocking anyone over, but the same couldn't be said for Charm, who didn't bother to apologize as she shoved past people. Once they reached the alleyway where the man had gone, Owen turned towards it, expecting to see the man walking down it.

But to his shock, the alleyway was completely empty. Furrowing his brows, he glanced behind him and met the eyes of his friends. "Where did he go?"

Charm growled in frustration as a red grid passed briefly over her eyes. She pushed past Owen to walk down the alleyway, and they followed her. "He was just here a minute ago."

"So he's gone," Orion grunted. "Fine. Let's forget about him and question someone else."

"Wait!" Bethany pointed at the ground. "There's a manhole. There has to be underground tunnel down there!"

Owen's eyes widened as he followed where she was pointing. There was a manhole in the ground, which had some weird symbol on it that he couldn't interpret. The symbol almost looked like letters, but it was too faded to make out. The symbol seemed important to Owen, like he should remember what it was, but he didn't recognize it as something he'd seen before.

For some reason, he felt a sick feeling in his gut, as if something bad might happen. But this only appeared to be an underground tunnel or a hideout of some sort, which shouldn't be very dangerous. Could this be a secret hideout for time travelers?

"He must've gone down there," Kiel breathed.

"Should we follow him?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah," Owen said. "He's the only time-traveler I've seen. We have to go after him."

"Okay, here's the plan," Kiel said. "Once we catch this guy, Gwen, Owen, and I can act as the good cops. Orion and Charm can be the bad cops."

"A good cop, bad cop scenario," Bethany said, staring at him. "And what am I, a bad cop?"

He winked at her. "Sure."

"We're going to _interrogate_ him?" Gwen asked. "That's not nice. He hasn't done anything wrong, has he?"

"No," Owen said quickly. "Kiel, we aren't using that plan. Well . . . maybe. It depends what happens when we get there, but really, all we have to do is ask him about the time prison."

"Yeah," Bethany said, nervously glancing at the manhole. "And we aren't going to hurt anyone."

Charm sighed. "I'm bored already. When do we get to the ray-gunning part?"

Bethany shot her a look. " _Later_." She bent down to open the manhole, and Orion moved over to help. They quickly unscrewed it and pushed it to the side, grunting from the weight. Orion climbed down the ladder first, and the rest of them followed until they were all inside.

The underground tunnel before them was hardly like anything Owen had ever seen. Instead of a dimly-lit tunnel that most movies and books showed, it was brightly lit, and the floor, walls, and ceiling were white. The hallway they were in was eerily empty, with a few metal doors along the sides. The end of the hallway seemed to branch off into two sections.

"Where are we?" Owen asked.

"I don't know," Orion muttered.

Kiel only shook his head. "No idea."

"It looks like some sort of underground facility," Charm said quietly, looking as confused and wary as the rest of them. She slowly took out her ray guns and held them at her sides. "We should be careful."

They started walking slowly down the hallway, all of them unsure exactly where they were trespassing in. Owen couldn't shake the bad feeling he had about the place, but it seemed to be empty. Everything would be fine, right? All they had to do was find the man, and then they could leave to find Kara.

They got to the end of the hallway, where it branched off into two separate hallways that seemed to stretch far into the distance. Owen looked down each hallway, weighing his decisions. Both were empty, but he didn't know for sure if that was actually true. The man must've gone down one of these hallways. There wasn't anywhere else to turn, unless he had gone inside one of the rooms behind the metal doors.

The echo of distant footsteps caught their attention, and they all perked up at the noise. Bethany turned to them. "There's our guy. We should split up."

Owen frowned. He didn't like the idea of splitting up from his friends, even though it was the best option if they wanted to track the man down. Last time he'd separated from Bethany, she'd gotten split in half while Owen had been thrown into a time prison. He'd watched enough movies to know that splitting up never turned out to be a good move. But he was probably just overthinking everything. They'd be fine!

Charm nodded, moving to the hallway on the right. "I agree."

"Okay," Owen said. "Then, I'll go with Bethany and Ch—"

"No, I don't think so," she interrupted. " _I'll_ go with Gwen and Orion. You can go with Bethany and Kiel."

Owen frowned and glanced at Bethany, who looked like she wanted to say something. She stared at him in silence, and he only sighed. How long would Charm hold a grudge against him? The longer she was mad at him, the worse he felt. Even when he gave her space and acted friendly towards her, she _still_ acted like he was a horrible person.

"Okay!" Gwen said, smiling to relief the tension in the group, which was mostly just coming from Charm. She waved to them as she, Charm, and Orion started down the hallway. "See you guys soon! Good luck!"

"You too!" Kiel said. The three of them watched as their friends walked away, and Owen felt his stomach twist into a knot. Seriously, why did he feel so bad? Nothing bad would happen.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Bethany told him as they wandered down the opposite hallway. "Charm might be angry, but she _shouldn't_ be treating you that way."

"She has every right to be mad," Owen mumbled.

"But not to treat you like that."

He didn't know what to say to that. He was used to being yelled at and kicked around, so it wasn't like this was anything new. Owen turned to stare at her in bewilderment. "You always know what I'm thinking. How do you _do_ that?"

"I just do," she said, as if that response made sense. "You're my best friend."

"That . . . doesn't sound comforting."

Kiel gave him a supportive smile. "Don't worry, she'll get over it. Every time she's mad at me, it doesn't last too long. It might last a few months or even years, but she'll eventually get over it."

"But what if she doesn't?" Owen asked.

Bethany sighed, sharing a glance with Kiel. "I . . . I don't know."

They fell silent as they went further down the empty hallway, trying to listen for any signs of the man. Owen strained his ears, trying to hear something other than his and his friends' footsteps. He squinted his eyes against the bright fluorescent lights, which seemed as bright as the sun. The whole place made him feel nervous. The quietness of it all felt odd, because it seemed like there should be people around.

"Wait . . ." Owen stopped in his tracks as he finally made sense of the strange symbol he'd seen earlier. It hadn't been a symbol at all, he realized. They'd been letters! Letters that spelled something that made a chill go down his spine. He grabbed Kiel's arm. "TSA . . ."

"What?" Bethany said.

Owen's eyes widened, and more urgently, he said, "TSA!"

Kiel frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"The letters on the manhole cover!" Owen exclaimed, his breathing becoming more quick as he pieced everything together. This explained the secret underground facility and the man with the time bracelet. "T-They were faded, and I had no idea what they said. But I do now! They stand for TSA. _Time Security Agency_."

"What?" Bethany repeated, giving him a horrified look. Kiel stared at him in shock, his eyes wide.

All of the sudden, someone grabbed Owen from behind, throwing a hand over his mouth. His heart leapt. He screamed in surprise as he was dragged backward, and he struggled to move and fight back. The person gripped him tighter, not allowing him to move an inch.

"Owen!" he heard Kiel shout.

"Help!" Owen tried to shout, his voice muffled against the person's hand. " _Help_!" He had barely enough time to see his friends being grabbed as well before some sort of black cloth was shoved over his head, and everything went utterly dark.

* * *

By the time Bethany realized it'd been a mistake to search for the man, it was too late. The attack had been sudden and unexpected, and the next thing Bethany knew, she and her friends were being dragged down hallways. She fought as hard as she could, using her entire body to throw herself out of her kidnapper's grip. Underneath the cloth they'd thrown over her head, it was pitch-black, giving her no ability to see where she was being taken.

She tried to elbow the person holding her, but nothing happened. The person continued dragging her to somewhere unknown, their arms wrapped tightly around her. Her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest, and her breathing became more rapid. Anxious thoughts swirled around her head, nearly overwhelming her. It didn't help that a hood was covering her head, and she could hardly breathe.

Bethany screamed in frustration, wishing she could do something to free herself. How hadn't she seen the attackers coming? It'd been completely quiet, so she figured that no one else was there with them. But apparently there had been, because now, she and her friends were being kidnapped and definitely were in a ton of danger right now.

 _Great_.

The person stopped moving for a moment, and Bethany heard the sound of a door being swung open. She gasped as the person once again continued dragging her, only to let go of her and shove her to the ground. She hit the ground hard, and she winced as pain momentarily filled her body. Disoriented and woozy, she struggled to sit up, since her hands had been tied behind her back.

She shifted around on the floor, breathing heavily. She heard more footsteps, and then the sounds of something being thrown to the ground next to her. Or . . . someone. Despite the unfortunate turn of events, she felt a small spark of hope. Had her friends been taken to the same place as her? She'd seen Owen and Kiel get grabbed by the kidnappers, so if they were with her, they could at least find a way to escape.

The hood was suddenly taken off her face, and Bethany found herself staring at a person wearing a black helmet and uniform. "Let me go!" she shouted desperately, frantically making attempts to break free of her bonds.

What was going _on_? Nothing made sense, and it terrified her. She was shaking all over. She had no clue who these people were, and more importantly, she had no idea what they were going to do to her and her friends.

"Stay here for questioning," the uniformed person ordered without a hint of emotion in their voice. The person turned back around, opening a door behind them before slamming it closed.

Her eyes widened. Questioning? Oh, no. No, no, no. That was never a good sign, especially since these people had just kidnapped her and her friends. Did the guards think they were time-travelers, or something? Bethany didn't know. There was no telling what they'd do.

Bethany hardly knew anything about Kara's book series, but she _did_ know what the TSA was capable of. The things they'd done to Owen in the time prison had been horrible, and she always wished she could've gotten him out faster before the traumatizing experience of it all. If this really was the same organization that Bethany had read about in _Pick The Plot_ , they were in big trouble.

Bethany couldn't stay and wait around for the kidnappers to come back. That would only end badly. She had to get out of here and save her friends. _Now_.

She looked around her, and she noticed for the first time that there was another person in the room with her. It took her a few seconds more to realize that that person was Charm. The dark hood was still over her head, covering her entire face. She was laying awkwardly on the ground, muttering what sounded like insults. It seemed that the half-robotic girl was more angry than scared about getting kidnapped and locked into a room for questioning.

Bethany heaved a sigh of relief, grateful that she wouldn't have to do this by herself. She dragged herself towards her friend with some difficulty, then whispered, "Charm!"

" _Who's there_?" Charm shouted, shoving herself into Bethany. Bethany gasped as she was knocked off balance, and she nearly tumbled to the floor again.

"It's me!" Bethany hissed as she struggled to regain her balance. "Bethany!"

There was a pause. "Bethany?"

"Yeah," she said. "Now let me try to get this thing off of you. Can you bend over?"

Charm scoffed. "Are you kidding?"

Bethany glared at her. "It's not a question. My hands are tied behind my back. I can't move them!"

Reluctantly, Charm nodded and let herself fall the rest of the way to the ground. Bethany got as close to Charm's head as she could before shifting her body around, holding her hands out as far as they could go. The bonds were tight, and they restricted her from pulling her hands apart. Grunting, she stretched her hands even further, until finally, she felt the cloth's material underneath her fingers.

Bethany's heart leapt. It was working! "Almost got it," she told Charm, before attempting to grasp the hood again. It took several tries before she finally got a good grip on it, and once she did, she pulled with all her strength. The hood came tumbling off of Charm's face, and Bethany stopped moving, her arms aching from the strain of using them.

"Thanks," Charm grunted from behind her. She turned back around just as Charm got to her feet, having remarkably less difficulty than Bethany was having. She stared down at Bethany in annoyance, who was still on the floor. "I don't know _who_ these people think they are. They think they can grab us and toss us into this room? Do they not know who I am?"

"Nope," Bethany said. "But right before we got kidnapped, Owen said that these people were from the TSA. That stands for 'Time Security Agency'." She shuddered. "From what I've heard, they're really evil."

"Don't care. It doesn't matter who they are, or where they came from," Charm snapped. "They also didn't take my ray guns, which was dumb on their part. They won't be so happy when I'm ray-gunning them."

Bethany furrowed her brows, and she slowly pushed herself to her feet, using her legs for support. "But our arms are still tied. You couldn't even reach your ray guns if you tried."

"You're thinking small, which shouldn't surprise me," Charm said, and Bethany felt her irritation rising. "I'm half-robotic, remember? Super strong arm." As if on cue, Charm's robotic arm lashed out, breaking the thick robes that held her arms. In seconds, she was free.

Bethany just stared at her. "Are you _serious_? Why didn't you use it to escape before?"

"Because I wanted the guards to think that I couldn't escape," Charm stated, as if it were obvious. "That way, they wouldn't bother us as much, and we can get out of this room. And clearly, you all need some help escaping."

Bethany scoffed. "I don't _need_ —"

Charm rolled her eyes, then walked over to Bethany and pulled at the knotted rope that prevented her hands from moving. Bethany winced as the rope came loose, tumbling to the floor. She stretched out her sore arms and glanced down at her wrists, which were bright red from the tightness of the rope. She looked back up at Charm, who was already moving to the door.

Bethany watched as Charm twisted the knob of the surprisingly-unlocked door and threw it open. She stepped out into the brightly-lit hallway. There was a shout from Charm's left, and Charm quickly punched something that Bethany couldn't see several times with her robotic arm. Bethany rushed to her side and was shocked to find a guard laying on the ground, now unconscious.

"You knocked him out."

"Nice observation." Charm pressed something on her robotic arm, which scanned the area around them with a glowing red light. "I'm detecting a lot of people in here, maybe hundreds."

"Hundreds?" Bethany's eyes widened. What was this place, and why were there so many people here? "What about the guards? Are there any more of them around?"

"No. The coast is clear, at least for the next few hallways." Charm nodded her head in the direction of the hallway. She took out her ray guns and pointed them in front of her, her expression hard.

"Good," Bethany said, throwing a glance at the guard on the ground before starting purposefully down the hallway. "Let's go find our friends."

* * *

 _Everyone's going to blame_ me _for this_ , Owen thought as he was tossed to the ground, where he groaned loudly in pain. His body ached all over — more specifically, his broken arm, which had been cruelly tied behind his back. He barely had time to readjust his position on the ground before the hood was ripped off of his head. The door was slammed behind him, and he instinctively winced.

He stayed on the ground for what felt like hours, having no idea what to do. Even after it had happened, Owen still couldn't believe they'd gotten kidnapped. Now, he and his friends were in danger and it was because of _him_. He wished the others hadn't let him go through with this idiotic plan. At the time, it'd made sense. But now, he was regretting his decision.

He was so tired of being known as the boy who messed everything up, but it seemed that there was nothing he could do to change that now. For the hundredth time, he wished that he wouldn't just be the sidekick, the comic relief that got everyone captured. He wished he could go back to _saving_ his friends, like he'd done yesterday when they'd fought against the Science Police. Once again, they'd probably be the ones saving him, not the other way around.

And to top it all off, he was also no closer to finding Kara.

He'd followed the man with the belief that as a time-traveler, he'd know where she was. But that had been wishful thinking. Owen should've known they'd be walking into a trap, but everything had seemed fine. He wished that they'd stuck to using Kiel's location spell, which now seemed like a much better alternative. Hopelessness filled him. At this rate, he'd _never_ find Kara.

Owen had barely moved before the door was opened again, and three more people with hoods over their faces were shoved into the room by guards wearing black helmets. The momentum of the push sent them falling to the ground, right beside Owen. The guards advanced towards them, taking the hood off of their heads before they stormed out of the room.

Instantly, Owen recognized them as Kiel, Gwen, Orion. "Well _that_ was unexpected," Kiel said, flashing them a wink that seemed forced.

Despite everything that had happened, Owen found himself smiling at their arrival. "Are you guys okay?"

"If you mean 'having a horrible day' by okay, then yes," Orion growled. The sidekick quickly glanced around the room before pulling with all his strength at the tight bonds around his wrists. He grunted from the effort, and tried several times before giving up.

"I'm fine, now that you guys are here," Gwen said, replying to Owen's question. She frowned as she seemed to notice something. "What happened to Bethany and Charm?"

Kiel's eyes widened, and he frantically glanced around the room. "They're not here?"

"They aren't," Orion confirmed, seeming to tense up. "If they hurt Bethany, I'll make them _pay_."

"We'll get them back," Owen said, but he hardly believed his own words. How could they find their friends when they were locked up? Escaping wasn't much of an option, either. Not when they couldn't free themselves.

"Do you think they're okay?" Kiel asked, the worry evident in his eyes. They fell silent, none of them knowing the answer to that question.

Owen's momentary relief at seeing his friends again subsided, with the realization that two of them were missing. He wasn't too worried about Charm, since she was just as intimidating as the guards, but he was more concerned about Bethany. What would the TSA do to them now that they'd captured them? Where were his other friends? He shuddered as he thought over all the possible things that could be happening to them right now.

"I'm sure they will be," Gwen said softly, her tone hopeful. "On the bright side, _we're_ fine. So they must be, too."

Orion rolled his eyes. "We're not _fine_. We're trapped in a room with our hands tied behind our backs. I'm usually the one tying criminals up, not the other way around."

"I'm sorry," Owen said, feeling ashamed as he looked at each of them. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have followed that man."

"You _think_?"

"Hey, it wasn't your fault, Owen," Kiel assured him. "None of us could've known that this would happen. But it's no big deal. Do you know how many times I've been kidnapped?"

"Yeah." Owen nodded. "You got captured by those giants, and many times by the Science Soldiers, and Dr. Verity a few times, and—"

"Exactly! And I've escaped every time. And do you know why?"

Orion deadpanned. "No, I don't. Can we focus here and get back to escaping?"

"Because I'm amazing, that's why," Kiel finished, which made Owen smile a little. "And we can easily escape this place. I just need to get my hands on my wand-knives."

"I can get them for you," Gwen offered. She moved closer to Kiel and managed to grab the tip of one of the wand-knives, but due to the immobility of her hands, she wasn't able to lift it. She sat back with a sigh. "I couldn't get them. We can find another solution, though!"

"That's okay—" Kiel began.

"Okay, while you guys are having a conversation that contributes nothing, I'll be escaping," Orion interrupted, and proceeded to stand up. With his hands still tied behind his back, he cautiously walked over to the door and pressed his ear against it.

"Um, what are you doing?" Owen asked.

Orion gave him a dark look, almost as if to say _don't ask any more questions_. Owen sighed. He didn't know how much they could accomplish by listening through the door, but that was the best option for now, since there was nothing else they could do. The group stopped talking, trying to listen for a sign of the guards or anyone else outside the door.

"Can you hear anything?" Gwen whispered to Owen and Orion, who were crouched closest to the door. Owen tried to listen, then shook his head. He couldn't hear anything from where he was sitting.

Orion sighed. "Just barely. I don't think anyone's in this hallway." Then his eyes widened, and he pressed himself closer to the door.

"What?" Kiel whispered. "What is it?"

Orion waved at him to be quiet, then continued listening. He shuffled away from the door, nodding at them. "Someone's coming."

" _What_?" Owen gasped. "We need to hide!"

"Where?" Kiel exclaimed. "There's nowhere to go!"

The four scrambled to position themselves out of sight, as low to the ground as they could get without drawling more attention. There were footsteps and muffled voices, and then . . . nothing. The only thing Owen could hear was their heavy breathing. All of the sudden, the door swung open, and his heart nearly stopped.

All of them froze, then simultaneously sighed in relief. It was Bethany, and next to her was Charm. Owen could hardly contain his surprise at the sight of them. He hadn't expected Bethany and Charm to come find them, but then again, he hadn't expected to get kidnapped either.

"Bethany!" Gwen cried happily, a huge grin growing on her face. She looked like she wanted to hug them both, but the only thing stopping her was the rope that held her arms behind her.

"B-Bethany?" Owen sputtered. "Charm? You guys are okay?"

Bethany's mouth hung open for a few seconds, looking just as surprised as he felt. Then she grinned, and moved behind Orion to untie his bonds. "Yes, but not for long."

"How did you get out?" Kiel asked.

Charm snorted. "It wasn't hard. I used my robotic arm to get the bonds off of us, and then we fought a few guards on our way here."

"How many guards are there?" Orion asked, flexing his hands as they came free from the bonds.

"A lot more, I'm guessing. We should get out of here before more come back," Bethany said, shuddering a bit. She walked over to Owen next and carefully began untying the rope around his wrists. Owen inhaled sharply at the sensation of his broken arm being pulled, and she muttered an apology. The bonds finally came free, and Owen gently held his broken arm with his good one, feeling pain everywhere.

Once the Kiel and Gwen were free, the six of them shuffled quietly over to the door, readying their weapons. Kiel went first, swinging open the door and poking his head out.

"See anything?" Bethany asked.

"Nope," he said. "The hallway's empty."

Gwen smiled. "Oh, that's good."

"Don't get your hopes up," Charm warned. "My sensors detect a lot of movement around here, so expect to see more of them."

Owen winced. More guards? He didn't like the sound of that. Depending on how many there were, they might have a hard time getting out of this place. They definitely didn't know their way around this building and the last thing they needed was to get captured again.

"Looks like we'll have to fight our way out," Orion said with a grimace.

Kiel glanced back at them and winked. "Sounds fun. I'm always up for a challenge."

Charm sighed loudly. "What _doesn't_ sound fun to you?"

"Many things! Like school."

"Specifically math class," Owen added, to which Kiel nodded vigorously.

Charm made an angry noise in the back of her throat. "Kiel, school is—" She cut herself off. "You know what? Never-mind. Let's get moving."

They fell silent as Kiel walked out of the room first, Owen right at his heels. They walked quickly down the hall, each casting wary glances over their shoulders. Owen found it uncomfortably similar to being in the time prison, where he'd been trapped without a way out. This time, he told himself, he wasn't trapped. They just had to find the ladder that they'd come down from, and then they could get out of here.

As he walked alongside his friends, Owen looked up and down the brightly-lit hallway, searching for any guards lurking nearby. Just like Kiel said, there weren't any to be seen. But judging from what Charm had claimed, that wouldn't be the case. Any moment now, more guards would come walking around the corner, only to see that their hostages had escaped. Owen wasn't sure if he'd be ready for when that happened.

Somewhere up ahead, Owen heard footsteps. His robotic heart began to race a bit faster at the sound, and he swallowed hard, mentally preparing himself for a fight. Could he use his time powers like last time, by speeding up or slowing down the time of the guards? That seemed like it would be helpful, but these were _real_ people _,_ not Science Police.

It was acceptable to kill robots, but _people?_ The very idea made Owen feel sick. He didn't want to kill them or hurt them severely. He wasn't even fully sure how to control his newfound powers, so he decided it'd be best if he stuck to his usual routine in a fight: trying not to get killed.

"Get ready," he whispered to his friends as they turned the corner. Even though he'd been expecting it, his heart jumped anyway at the sight of several enormous guards walking towards them. The guards stopped in their tracks, sharing looks with each other. Since they were wearing helmets, Owen couldn't see the expressions on their faces, but he could guess that they were surprised.

The shock wore off after a second, and the guards charged towards them, raising their futuristic-looking guns. The guards looked twice as big up close, looking even more intimidating to Owen than before. While Orion went straight to punching the guards, Kiel aimed both wand-knives at the group and murmured a spell. Immediately, all of the guards started dancing. Some even lost their grips on their weapons, which made Owen grin.

His hope was short-lived, however, because more guards came barreling down the hallway. Charm muttered something under her breath before raising both ray guns and firing them into the group. The guards fired their guns right back at them, and Owen had to duck several times to avoid getting hit. Next to him, Bethany transformed into a giant fist and punched through the guards, sending many of them falling back into the wall, completely unconscious.

"Nice job, Beth!" Kiel shouted as Bethany transformed back. She grinned back at him, only for her smile to fade as a guard advanced towards her, pointing a gun at her. She quickly transformed into sleeping gas, and the guard collapsed to the ground a second later.

As the minutes wore on, more and more guards came running down the hallway. It was becoming overwhelming, and Owen wasn't sure if the fight would ever end. The guards only seemed to be multiplying, and their group was quickly being outnumbered.

"Look out!" Gwen shouted as one of the guards tried to punch Owen, only for Orion to whack his Twilight staff into the guard, catching him off balance.

The guard swung another punch — this time at Orion — but Orion sidestepped the punch as easily as if he were passing pedestrians on the street. The guard shouted in rage, pointing his gun at the boy. Without even flinching, Orion dropped to the ground and swept the guard's feet out from under him, then knocked him out with one punch. He got to his feet again, shaking out his hand.

"Whoa!" Owen said, his eyes wide with awe. "That was so cool. Where did you learn to punch like that?" Orion only smirked, and he raised his Twilight staff, hitting it into another guard.

As even more guards came running in, Bethany rewrote herself into gigantic inanimate objects, which was useful for knocking out entire groups of guards. While Charm used her ray guns and robotic arm to fight off the guards, Gwen soared into the air, plucking guns from the guards' hands and tossing them into the wall, where they smashed into pieces. Kiel cast spell after spell, seemingly enjoying the entire thing.

Owen, on the other hand, had to jump out of the way a few times, just to avoid getting hit with any spells or bullets. When he found the opportunity to, he used his blow-dart to knock out the guards, which proved to be harder than he thought it would be. With so many moving targets, it was hard to direct the blow-darts where he wanted them to go.

He was about to fire another one at an unsuspecting guard before a bullet sailed through the air — almost in slow motion — towards him. Owen gasped, and he forgot to even use his time powers to avoid it. He was suddenly shoved out of the way, and he hit the side of the wall, groaning from the impact. He was even more shocked when he looked over to see Charm, who seemed to realize just then that she'd protected him.

"Come on, Owen!" she growled, annoyed. "Can't you take care of yourself for like, five seconds?"

He put a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it. He flushed red once he realized that Charm was talking to him. "My bad?"

"Exactly! Now keep moving!"

Disoriented, Owen hurried after her as she shot more guards, sending each one falling to the ground. He watched as Charm punched one guard hard in the face, then shot the next one in the chest without even a hint of difficulty. Owen wasn't sure if it was just his imagination playing tricks on him, but it seemed like the amount of guards was lessening.

As the fight wore on, he realized that he was right. Guards stopped swarming into the hallway, which made things easier. Between the six of them, they were able to fight off the remaining guards until each one was unconscious. What came next was silence, and Owen moved towards his friends, who all looked exhausted from the fighting.

He felt like celebrating. He didn't know how they'd managed to fight all of the guards off. It should've been impossible. There had to be hundreds of them, and yet, they'd taken them all down.

"We did it!" Gwen said, touching down on the ground. She quickly hugged Bethany, then proceeded to high-five Kiel and Owen.

Owen grinned. "Yeah!"

"Is that it?" Orion asked, raising an eyebrow. Owen didn't blame him. The fight had gone on for maybe thirty minutes, but it still felt shocking that they had won.

"I hope so," Bethany said.

Without warning, a noise came from one of the metal doors along the wall. Uh oh. Were there more guards to come? Owen shared an uneasy glance with Bethany, and they all raised their weapons. As they cautiously advanced towards the door, Owen felt nervous butterflies form in his stomach. His fear grew as they got closer and closer to the door, but he forced himself to keep moving.

Then, the door creaked open, and a very shocked pink-haired girl walked out. Her eyes darted around the room before landing on him, and that was when Owen stopped breathing. But he knew that it wasn't from fear. Not this time. He was staring at someone that he'd never expected to see again, not in a thousand years.

Time jolted to a stop, or so it seemed. Their eyes connected from across the room, and it was like the distance between them melted away in an instant. Owen stared at Kara, his heart in his throat and his mouth hanging halfway open in stunned disbelief. He couldn't move. The room went silent. The weapon in his hand clattered to the ground, but he barely heard it.

It'd been three weeks since he last saw her, when she'd been captured by the time agents. But now she was standing before him, looking exactly as he remembered. Both of them were at a complete loss for words. Then, the realization that Kara was here, _actually_ here, caught up with him. Owen found himself slowly beginning to smile, feeling as though he was in a dream. An amazing, spectacular, wonderful dream. It was nothing like he'd imagined yet everything he'd hoped for.

He didn't have to wonder about her anymore. The colors around him seemed to have amplified, making everything look more beautiful and brighter than before. All of the uncertainty and fear washed out of him, and his smile grew. The shock wore off, and he could suddenly breathe again. Kara was alive! She was _really_ okay, and she was safe. She was right in front of him, seemingly unharmed. She was here.

"O-Owen?" Kara whispered in a shaky voice, her eyes shining and a smile starting to form on her own face.

"Kara!" Owen happily exclaimed, blinking back tears. Just the action of saying her name again felt like a relief, and he repeated it over and over in his head, hoping that this wasn't a dream.

At the same time, they moved towards each other, and Owen didn't have time to react before Kara threw her arms around him. He stumbled backwards, but she pulled him towards her, keeping him upright before he tripped. Both were a bit unsteady on their feet, and swayed slightly as they hugged. The relief of holding her again nearly knocked the breath from his lungs once again, and he shuddered. He closed his eyes, and a few tears escaped, slowly sliding down his face.

He held her close with his good arm, and she hugged him back just as tightly, her head buried against his chest and her hands tightly clutching the top of his shirt. She gasped, then sniffled loudly. Owen could feel her shaking, just as much as he was. In spite of the tears that streamed down his face, he found himself smiling again. Sheer euphoria rushed through him all at once, and he felt strangely at peace despite the danger he'd gone through a minute ago.

As he held her, Owen felt like he was on a cloud. He forgot about everything. Nobody, his mother, his time powers, Bethany, Kiel, Charm, and the rest of his worries all vanished from his mind. All that mattered was that she was okay. After three weeks of worrying that she was suffering and that he'd never find her again, she was here with him now. It seemed as though nothing bad would ever happen again. All felt right in the world.

When Owen finally pulled away, he was beaming so widely that he could feel his cheeks ache with the strain. He couldn't stop smiling if he tried, and the happiness gushed out of him like a waterfall. He was even happier to see that Kara's expression looked much of the same, and she stared up at him with a smile that looked so undoubtedly, unexplainably, unconditionally happy.

He stepped back, shaking his head slightly as he looked at her with amazement. "Kara," Owen said again, his voice catching in his throat. He quickly wiped his cheeks, sniffling as he tried to wipe his tears away. His hands were shaking, and his heart pounded in his chest. But it was a good feeling, and Owen didn't want it to ever go away.

It felt so impossibly surreal, and at this point, Owen was pretty sure that nothing could disperse the butterflies from his stomach or tear the smile from his face. He was unable to look away from her, out of fear that this was all just a dream. No, this _wasn't_ a dream. If it was a dream, he wouldn't have cried. He would've been able to form a sentence. He wouldn't have held her tighter than he'd ever hugged anyone, and felt her hugging him back.

Owen swallowed hard and continued smiling at her, suddenly feeling awkward yet still happy all the same. There was so much he wanted to tell her, but the words wouldn't come out. He'd been waiting for weeks just to see her again, to make sure she was safe and tell her how much he'd missed her. He'd been _dreaming_ about this moment, and miraculously, he couldn't think of anything to say. It didn't help that she was standing merely a foot away from him, giving him almost no ability to think.

"You did it! You got out of the prison," Kara said, filling in the words for him. There were tears on her cheeks, and her blue eyes were brighter than ever. "I can't believe you're _here_! I was so worried that something bad happened to you."

"Well, _mostly_ nothing bad happened. Don't worry. I escaped," Owen said, his whole body shaking. "I went back to my world with my friends. But I was worried about you _too_. I never thought I'd ever see you again. I'm so sorry that the time agents took you away. I'm here. I-I mean, that's why I'm here. To rescue me. I mean — you! I'm here to rescue _you_." His face reddened, and she giggled. In spite of his embarrassment, he couldn't help but laugh, too. The happiness was infectious.

"Um, how have you been?" he continued, a wildfire spreading across his face. In that moment, he didn't care if she saw. Hesitantly, he reached over and put a shaking hand on her shoulder. "What did those time agents do to you? Are _you_ okay?"

"I'm fine now," she said softly, her eyes only on him. "Aside from being stuck in solitary confinement, it wasn't _so_ torturous. I'm more glad that you got to go back home." She half-smiled. "I was worried that you'd never escaped . . ."

"You didn't need to worry about _me_ ," Owen said, cracking a smile. " _You_ were the one who was put into solitary confinement! I'm really sorry. It sounds like it was horrible."

Once he said it, he knew that he meant it wholeheartedly. Kara had been put into _solitary confinement_ , which was even worse than a regular prison cell. She must've spent weeks being completely trapped and alone in that dark cell. Owen didn't know how she'd been able to withstand it. He was glad that he came when he did. Any later and she might've gone just as crazy as some of the other prisoners had.

"Mind introducing us to your friend?" Charm asked, coughing into her hand. Owen flinched. He'd forgotten they were there.

"O-Oh." Owen looked back at the group, blushing hard. He quickly let go of Kara and scanned his friends' faces. Kiel was standing next to Charm, a huge grin on his face. Orion and Gwen looked confused — although Gwen looked happy — and Charm looked much of the same, if not with a hint of disgust on her face. Bethany wore a shocked expression, but slowly began to smile when Owen looked her way.

Owen cleared his throat, quickly glancing at Kara before looking back at his other friends. "Everyone, this is Kara."

"Hi," Kara said, walking away from Owen and towards the others. "Nice to meet you all. I was with Owen in the time prison."

"I'm EarthGirl!" Gwen informed her. "But, you can call me Gwen." Before the other girl could respond, she threw her arms around her, hugging her tightly. She pulled away with a smile, and though she looked confused and surprised, Kara smiled back.

"Wow, okay," she muttered, seeming to relax more. "Nice to meet you. Do you normally hug people when you first meet them?"

"Not usually," Gwen admitted, shrugging a bit. "But I could tell you needed a bit of optimism, anyway."

Kara's eyes widened. "You could?"

Gwen nodded, not looking fazed. "I bet an experience like that must've been hard. From what I heard, it seemed like those time agents were really careless." Kara only nodded, and Gwen added, "You're an Earther too, right?"

Kara furrowed her brows in confusion. "'Earther'?"

"It's a term for people from Earth," Bethany said. "She's from a planet called Argon VI, so she's not from Earth."

"Oh! Got it. Okay," Kara said, turning back to Gwen with a small smile. "Then yeah, I am." She glanced at Bethany. "You're . . . Bethany, right? I recognize you from Owen's description. And you're the only one with red hair." She leaned in closer to whisper, "And don't worry, I know that you're half-fictional, so you don't have to hide it."

Bethany extended her hand out, and Kara shook it. "Um, yeah, I am. I'm Owen's best friend." She side-eyed Owen with a grin. "I've heard a lot about you."

Kara smiled sheepishly back, blushing a bit. "You have?" She glanced at Owen, and he blushed too, the smile never leaving his face.

"Yeah," Bethany said. "I'm really glad that he wasn't alone in that time prison. It sounded terrifying."

"It was," Kara muttered.

"You were in prison? _Two_ prisons?" Orion asked, raising an eyebrow. Being a superhero and an advocate for justice, he didn't look pleased with that. Then again, he never looked pleased about anything.

"It was a prison for time travelers. Not a prison with supervillians, like the one you'd think of," Owen said quickly. The experience of being in the time prison had been terrifying for both of them, and he didn't want to accidentally upset her with the mention of it.

"Still a prison," Orion said. "Crime is wrong, whether it's for time travel or not."

"Do you have something against time travelers?" Kara asked, though she didn't look offended.

"No." The hint of a smile was on his face. "Just criminals."

She grinned. "Then you _do_ have something against me."

"Oh, he definitely does," Kiel said, winking at her as Orion gave him a look that he didn't see. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

Kara peered at him. "Are you . . . Kiel?"

He gave her a surprised look, then nodded. "How did you know?"

She glanced at Owen again, no doubt to see if he was still there. "Owen told me you were eaten forty-three times by dragons — which sounds super gross, by the way. I don't know, you just seem like that type of person."

Kiel laughed. "Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment." Charm snorted, not saying anything.

After the rest of Owen's friends introduced themselves to Kara, they filled her in on the situation with Nobody and his plans to destroy the fictional world. Since Kara already knew who Nobody was and had seen what he'd put Owen through, it didn't take much convincing for her to agree to come along with them. She seemed just as determined as the rest of them to put an end to Nobody's evil schemes.

Owen was ecstatic that she'd agreed to come with them, mostly because there wasn't a single part of him that wanted to leave her side. After three weeks of being separated from her, he'd missed her possibly more than he'd ever missed anyone. Now that she was here, it felt like things were right again. He would've been disappointed if she'd decided to stay, just like when she'd let herself get taken away by the time agents.

Ever since Kara's older self told her about the future she would create — where she would destroy the world — she'd tried everything to prevent that from happening. Owen knew that she wouldn't want her world to be destroyed, especially given what she'd gone through. That was another reason he knew she'd said yes. Any fictional person would be crazy if they _wanted_ their world to disappear.

"Did you guys see any time bracelets around here?" Kara asked. "I'm not sure how much I can do to help without one."

"I think there might be some over in that room," Gwen said, pointing at a closed door, which was dark inside. As they walked over to it, Owen could make out a placard, which read "time-traveling equipment". Kara opened the door and ran her hand along the wall before coming in contact with the light switch. She flicked it on, and the room was filled with light.

Owen gasped. Not only did they find what they were looking for, but there were time bracelets all along the wall, each of them plugged into what looked like a cell phone charger. Walking over to the wall, Kara grabbed one of the bracelets and slipped it over her wrist. She looked back at them with a grin. "Let's do this."

* * *

 _"_ _Everything is temporary, everything will slide. Love will never die, die, die . . ."_


	32. The Unexpected Visitor

_**Greek Tragedy (by The Wombats)**_

 _"_ _We're smashing mics in karaoke bars. You're running late with half your make-up on . . ."_

* * *

Orion didn't like detours.

Whenever he was on a quest, it was better to not get distracted or unfocused. Now that they'd finally recruited a group to fight Nobody (took them long enough!), he would've preferred to head straight to wherever this villain was and get his father figure back. To be honest, he would've preferred to ignore everything else and go alone to rescue Doc Twilight.

But then, Orion would just be dooming himself and leaving his friends behind. While he knew he could count on himself to get the job done, he also would've felt bad about ditching Bethany . . . along with her friends, who he'd gradually started to think of as his _own_ friends. But he'd never say that aloud. Him, having _friends_? A few years ago, he would've completely denied the idea.

Orion never wanted anyone to think that, even if Gwen _was_ growing on him. Somehow, she made him feel better about himself, with her relentless optimism and bright smile. He didn't think being optimistic was a realistic outlook on life, especially after all he'd been through. The whole "non-violence" thing was also really unhelpful, but he was starting to think of her as a friend nonetheless.

He was also slowly warming up to Owen and Kiel (though he still definitely thought they were annoying), but he really could've cared less about Charm (he was impressed with her brilliantness, but that was it). Lastly, he didn't know _what_ to think about Kara.

She was a time criminal who'd been in jail, which was the same place that Orion had locked up hundreds of supervillians. Just the sight of a criminal made an anger swell up in his chest, along with a need for justice to be fulfilled. But since she didn't seem nearly as bad as the criminals he'd dealt with, he didn't think she'd be a bad person to have around, either.

Since he liked being alone, Orion's ideal way of enjoying himself wasn't by being surrounded by six other people — most of which deeply annoyed him. The only one who didn't annoy him so much was Gwen, but the same couldn't be said for the rest of the group.

It felt weird and unusual to have so much company, but he didn't _completely_ hate it, either. Orion just wasn't used to it, and he didn't know if he ever would be. He was used to spending time with one or two people all his life, and that was it. He reminded himself that they wouldn't be on this mission forever. It'd only last for the next day or two before they defeated Nobody . . . if that even turned out to be successful.

He could only hope that this mission wasn't going to be a waste of time. If they failed to save Doc Twilight, it would be. There was also defeating Nobody to think about, but he cared more about saving his father figure over defeating a villain who he'd never met. Orion might've lost his father and sister figure a few times, but he was determined not to lose them again.

If this Nobody guy really did have Doc Twilight like Bethany said he did, then Orion wanted him to suffer greatly. It was only fair for the injustices Nobody had caused, along with the evil act of destroying Kiel's world and trying to destroy others. The more Orion heard about Nobody, the more he grew worried. Judging from everything he'd seen, Nobody was more powerful than he'd thought. They would all be doomed if they failed on this mission.

And while finding Nobody right away was exactly what he and his friends had agreed on doing, it wasn't working out so well at this point. Like he'd mentioned before, Orion didn't like detours. He tried to avoid them at all costs. But unfortunately, he wasn't alone anymore, so the decisions had to be made by the entire group.

By noon, the group had made a good distance from the time agent facility. It was no less than a few hours after they'd rescued Kara from prison, and everyone had agreed that a small relaxing break — at least for an hour — would be helpful. Orion, who never felt relaxed in his life, had no idea why a break would benefit anyone.

Begrudgingly, he had agreed, but he didn't feel happy about the decision. Charm hadn't either, but they were outnumbered by the rest of the group. Orion just didn't see how stopping at a run-down diner for breakfast was helpful when they needed to defeat Nobody. But seeing that they were all relatively hungry, it was probably for the best.

The bell on the door signaled loudly as they pushed it open and walked inside. Despite them being in the past, the diner wasn't very different or special-looking. In fact, it looked as normal as the diners he'd seen on Jupiter City. Families and friends sat at booths and tables, eating breakfast together. The buzz of soft conversation drifted around the room. Rays of sunlight spilled out from the windows, brightening the diner.

The place looked surprisingly normal, but as always, Orion kept his guard up. From experience, he knew that diners weren't always as peaceful as they seemed. He knew there weren't any supervillians _here_ , in Kara's world, but one could never be too suspicious.

What caught his attention most was the jukebox was set up in the corner of the room, playing a song that Orion had never heard. It made his heart twinge. When he was young, he used to come to diners with his parents. He'd throw coins into the jukebox, requesting that it play the same songs over and over again until his father nearly died of laughter after the restaurant manager asked him to stop.

Ever since then, diners became somewhere that he did not go to very often. He didn't avoid them on purpose, but he'd be lying if he said that the sight of one didn't make him a bit nostalgic. He didn't think about his parents as much as he used to, but the remains of the anger and sadness that their deaths had brought him was still there.

"Hello!" a woman at the front desk said. "Do you have a reservation?"

"No," Owen said. He tilted his head, confused. "Did we need to make one?"

The woman shook her head, giving him a warm smile. "No, no. We have plenty of seating." She glanced around at them, and Orion noticed that Kara stepped behind Owen, purposely hiding her face. "How many?"

Charm sighed loudly, crossing her arms. "Seven."

The woman nodded, and typed something into her computer. "Wait here. Your table will be ready shortly."

"This is so exciting!" Gwen said as they turned back to each other.

"How is this exciting?" Orion blurted out, unable to help himself. "We're going to eat food. That's it."

"At an _Earth_ restaurant!"

"Why does that matter?"

Bethany shot him a look. "Hey, she's never been to an Earth restaurant. Don't judge her for being excited."

Gwen smiled gratefully at her. "Thank you, Bethany."

"Sure."

"I felt the same way when I first went to a restaurant in Bethany and Owen's world," Kiel spoke up. "It was so weird. On Magisteria, they never had anything like this."

"Makes sense," Owen said. "The Magisterians just use magic to make their own food, don't they? Or they grow it themselves, and the Quanterians built machines for making their own foo—"

"Stop acting like you know everything about my world." Charm cut him off, looking a mixture of uncomfortable and annoyed. "You don't."

"That's the thing. He actually does—" Kiel began.

She pointed a robotic finger at him. "I won't hesitate to punch you. Everything that you say is stupid, so _stay_ out of it."

"Charm!" Gwen frowned.

"That doesn't really seem fair," Kara said.

"She's _always_ telling me that," Kiel said. "It's really insulting. But I'm very understanding of other people's flaws."

Charm placed her hands on her ray guns. "I'm seriously going to shoot you all."

Bethany quickly stepped in front of Charm before she could do anything. "Come on, Charm. Really? Owen knows a lot about your world. So what?"

Charm made a disgusted face. "'So what'? It's creepy. Does he know _everything_ about us?"

They all turned to look at Owen, who's face was turning red. "Kind of?" he said. "B-But it's not a bad thing! Isn't it good to be, you know, knowledgeable?"

She stared at him, then rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"Guys," Gwen said, holding her hands up in a calm manner. "There's no need to argue. Love and communication is the best way to solve things. We can solve all of our problems by talking it out." Her comment seemed to lighten the mood, and even Orion found his tension releasing ever so slightly.

"True," Kiel agreed.

"Punching works better sometimes," Orion whispered under his breath.

"Well, I'm excited too," Kara said, looking at Gwen. She'd only been with their group for an hour, but she didn't seem to have any uncomfortableness around them. "For seventeen days, I ate all of my meals in solitary confinement." She shuddered, then glanced over at the tables. "I'm just ready to eat some waffles or something."

"Me too. I feel like I haven't eaten in _days_ ," Owen said, and they shared a smile that went unnoticed by no one.

Orion didn't know much about Owen and Kara's history — aside from them being in a prison together — but he hadn't recalled seeing two people so happy to be with each other. Normally, Orion would've found it irritating. And it definitely was.

But he accepted it, since he knew how it felt to reunite with someone after not seeing them in ages. Like how he'd felt when Doc Twilight had changed back to his normal self after he'd turned into the Dark.

A different woman — a waitress — walked up to them, seven menus in her hands. "Follow me. Your table is ready."

They followed the woman until they reached a booth. Charm gestured to it. "This is where we're sitting?"

"Yes," their waitress said, backing away slightly at Charm's intense gaze. "You kids okay with that?"

"Not—"

Kiel nudged Charm in the side, smiling at the woman. "Of _course_ we are!" The half-robotic girl gave him a death look, but he only winked.

"Yeah, we're good with sitting here," Bethany added.

"Great," their waitress said. "Sorry, we're kind of packed this morning. The only tables we have left are booths."

Orion raised an eyebrow at that. There were a few empty tables that weren't booths, and they seemed perfectly available for them to sit at. Not that he really cared. The empty tables must've been reserved for some reason.

"No, this is perfect!" Gwen assured the woman. "Thank you so much!"

With the promise that she'd be back in the next few minutes (though Orion suspected she'd take a lot longer) their waitress walked away, leaving them with their menus. Not wanting to be squished into the booth, Orion slipped into the chair at the end of the table.

He preferred having some personal space, especially since booths required touching the person you were sitting next to. Orion didn't _completely_ mind it depending on the person, but he didn't like it. Being touched was something he rarely tolerated, unless it was the quick shoulder pats or the handshakes that Doc Twilight gave him.

Up until Bethany came into his life, Doc was the only person that Orion tolerated if it came to affection. And by affection, that didn't include hugging. He was pretty sure that he'd only hugged his father figure a few times in the time he'd known him, which had been years. As for Bethany, he'd only hugged her once. But that was a one-time thing. Once was _more_ than enough.

The others piled into the booth: Owen first, then Kara and Bethany on one side, and Gwen, Kiel, and Charm on the other. As they settled into their seats, Gwen looked around them with fascination, while Charm kept her hands positioned on her ray guns. The others were observing their menus, so Orion leaned forward to stare at his own, despite having no intention to get any food.

"Uh oh." Kara's eyes widened. "Does anyone have any money?"

"Um . . ." Owen looked down at the table, and Bethany started to dig through her pockets, only to come back empty-handed.

Orion glanced at his unresponsive friends, who had gone silent. He pulled his purple cape around him like a cloak, giving them all a dark look. "That's inconvenient. _No_ , apparently no one brought money."

"That's okay!" Gwen said in a cheerful tone. "Can we use something else to pay with?"

"Like what?" Orion raised an eyebrow. "A rainbow?"

"What is a rainbow?"

"It's a —" He grunted in annoyance. "I don't have to answer that. It doesn't matter. But I'm not going to break the law by not paying. Supervillians break the law, and they go to jail for it. I have never broken the law, and I _never_ will. Not now, not ever."

"It's not that bad," Kiel said, winking at him. "It's actually quite fun. Rules are _meant_ to be broken!"

"Not _all_ rules," Bethany muttered.

"Most rules," he said. " _And_ , I've stolen food before. This is easy. Easier than half the things I've done. All we have to do is make a run for it while no one is looking."

"This sounds really exciting!" Gwen whispered.

"Trust me, it _is._ "

"Did you not hear anything I just said?" Orion asked, unable to hold back his annoyance. Couldn't _one_ person in this group think that this was a bad idea? "Stealing food means breaking the law, which I won't be participating in."

"You're with us, so technically you _will_ be," Bethany pointed out.

"Oh, shut up."

"I've watched enough movies to know that running from a restaurant without paying is considered illegal," Owen said, then paused. "Well, I'm _pretty_ sure. But I really don't want to be associated with the police if it is!"

"We won't be." Bethany rolled her eyes. "And we don't have a choice!"

"Of course we do!"

"Not if we don't have money."

He groaned. "We shouldn't have gotten food."

"I thought you said you were hungry," Gwen said, looking confused.

"I am! But we don't have money, so now we're going to leave the restaurant without paying. Isn't there anything else we can do?"

"I don't think so," Kiel said. He winked at them again, and Orion felt the urge to punch him. Why did he have to wink so much? It was getting annoying. "Guess we'll have to 'dine and dash', as Bethany says."

Bethany turned to stare at him. "When have I ever said that?"

"I may have seen it somewhere on TV." He grinned. "Or maybe Owen told me?"

"Um, no, Kiel! That probably isn't true!" Owen said quickly.

Kiel gave him a odd look. "But weren't we watching that TV show together? It was called, um—"

"Nope! We definitely didn't do that. I don't condone this."

"It'll be okay, Owen!" Gwen said, reaching over to pat his hand.

"You all could go to jail for this," Orion whispered, not liking this conversation one bit. He narrowed his eyes. "I might be on your side, but there's no way I'm associating with thievery."

"It's not _thievery_ ," Charm said a matter-of-factly. "It's not that complicated. We just won't be paying for our meals."

"And that's a crime."

"Maybe it'll be fun?" Kara suggested. "I've stolen things before. Like, really old things. From the fourteenth century. You should _see_ the artifacts I've got in my room. I've just used my time bracelet to jump into a different time, and then—" She slammed her hands on the table, making Owen jump. "BAM! I'm not in trouble."

"I never knew you stole things," Owen said, looking shocked.

Kara smiled. "Oh, Owen. Trust me, I haven't stolen enough to get caught."

"How much have you _stolen_?"

She shrugged. "Maybe just three or four things? Maybe five?"

"What?" He laughed.

Orion glared at her. "That makes it worse."

"I had to, okay?" Kara said. "Sometimes, historical artifacts are too cool to be left alone."

"Eh, that's not even close compared to what Moira has stolen," Kiel said. "She's stolen a _lot_ more. Even more than _I_ have!"

Bethany snorted. "True."

Charm looked up. "Who's Moira?"

"Someone you'd probably hate," Bethany told her. "Okay, uh, about the money problem. We can figure something out for this, right?" She searched their faces. "Can't Kiel cast a forget spell on our waitress, or something? Make her forget we ever had our meal?"

"Sure," Kiel said. "I guess we could."

"Will that make her forget everything?" Gwen asked, glancing over towards the restaurant's staff.

He shook his head. "No. She'll only forget everything within the past hour, which . . . should solve our money problem! That way we wouldn't have to pay for it."

"I don't like this idea," Orion said darkly, his voice coming out much lower than he'd intended it.

"You're starting to repeat yourself," Bethany remarked. "It'll be _fine_."

"You sure about that?"

" _Yes_."

Kiel grinned. "Yeah, what could go wrong?"

 _A lot of things_ , Orion thought to himself. Everything in his life already seemed to go wrong, and had gone wrong ever since Doc Twilight had turned into the Dark. Now, Doc was missing, Bethany was taking him on a mission that would surely get them all killed, and they were about to steal food. Great.

"Oh!" Owen suddenly exclaimed, catching them all off guard as he turned to Kara. "That reminds me: the people here don't recognize you, do they?"

"I don't think so," Kara said. "A ton of people don't know what I look like. They've only heard of me. They always think I'm much older than what I actually am, so I think I'll be fine. Unless . . . the time agents somehow track me down again."

Bethany leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table. "Would they be able to do that?"

"No, definitely not." Kara paused. "Well, I have no idea. Maybe they can."

"The good news is we won't be here for long, so you don't need to worry about getting captured again," Owen told Kara. "By the time we leave your world to find Nobody, they'll probably _still_ be knocked out." He smiled at her.

"Yeah." She grinned. "I can't believe you guys _did_ that."

Charm scoffed. "I can. It was easy."

"You call that easy?" Kara asked, giving her a strange look. "Huh, okay. I just hope they won't notice I'm gone before we leave my world."

"Oh, they'll be knocked out for a while," Orion spoke up. "Bethany made sure of that."

"What do you mean?" Kiel asked. He glanced at Bethany, a casual grin on his face.

Bethany shrugged. "I used sleeping gas on them, so hopefully, they won't be waking up at least for another few hours."

"Impressive."

She raised her eyebrows, a smile on her face. "More than you are?"

"Ha!" He laughed. "No way."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Eh, I'd say I'm still more impressive," Kiel said, then flinched when she reached across the table to hit him on the arm. "Ow! What was _that_ for?"

"You definitely deserved it," Orion noted dryly as the rest of them laughed, and he looked back at the menu. The food here wasn't at all different compared to the food on Jupiter City, yet he didn't feel very hungry. In general, he tended not to eat very much when he was on a mission. Maybe he'd get something small, just to keep anyone from getting concerned.

Seriously, why was the waitress taking so long to come back? They must've been sitting at this table for ten minutes already. Either he was just imagining things, or the service here was terrible. He was growing impatient, which wasn't uncommon.

Gwen tilted her head down towards the menu in front of her. "Hey, what are you guys getting? I've never heard of a waffle or a . . . pancake? The eggs sound delicious, too!"

"Those are all really good," Owen said with a smile. "Maybe you could get one of each."

Her eyes widened. "You can do that?"

"I think so!"

Gwen beamed. There was a genuine enthusiasm that danced in her eyes. "Amazing. I have literally never been as happy as I am right now."

"That's an understatement," Charm muttered. "You're _always_ absurdly happy."

"You're right, Charm! But, I wasn't happy when I found out about Nobody splitting apart the worlds, and Bethany turning into light, and Kiel almost dying under all that rubble. But I knew that it wasn't worth giving up hope or optimism."

"Wait, you almost _died_? When did _that_ happen?" Kara asked, looking at Kiel with wide eyes.

"Yesterday," Kiel said. "But don't worry, I've almost died plenty of times."

"Oh. Okay." She grinned a little. "So have I."

"Speaking of Nobody . . ." Bethany said, lowering her voice. They all turned to stare at her. "Now that we're all here, we need to have a plan to defeat him."

Owen nodded. "Nobody _is_ really powerful, and we've all seen what he can do. I honestly don't know if he can be beat, but we still have to—"

Charm glared at him. "Stay here if you're too afraid, Owen. But I'm going after him. He destroyed my planet. For that, he's going to _pay_."

Kiel nodded. "I agree! We're defeating him, one way or another."

"What? I'm not staying here! I'm gonna fight him too!" Owen said, his eyes widening. "But I'm just saying, he can turn into _anything._ We should be prepared for that."

"I still say that this isn't a good idea," Orion muttered. "If this guy _is_ as powerful as you say, we're only going to get ourselves killed. Do we have an actual plan here?"

"Of course!" Bethany said, but she looked nervous. "We'll fight him as a group, I guess. It won't be easy, but we have a better chance of defeating him that way." She swallowed hard. "I just hope this works."

"It will," Gwen said. "We can do it!"

Charm nodded. "Right. He can handle each of us individually, maybe, though I'm definitely powerful enough to take him on my own. But if we all attack him as a unified force, he won't be able to fight back."

"Sounds good to me." Kara shrugged.

"Me too!" Gwen agreed. "I love the idea of working together!"

"But it's not going to be easy to reach him, either," Bethany said. "That's the other problem. I don't know where he'd be."

"Me neither," Owen said, his voice quiet. "The last time we saw him was in Jupiter City."

That made Orion freeze. An unpleasant chill went down his spine. He looked back and forth between Owen and Bethany. "Nobody was in Jupiter City," he said slowly.

"Yeah, about a week ago," Bethany said. "Didn't I tell you?"

" _No_. You failed to mention that, Bethany."

Kara leaned forward. "What happened?"

"Owen and I tried defeating Nobody on our own—" Bethany began.

"Without me," Kiel added.

"But it didn't work. We locked Nobody up with these chains in Jupiter City, but he escaped and now I have no clue _where_ he is." She ran a hand through her hair. "It's a long story."

It was almost frustrating to Orion. There were so many 'long stories', which meant that Bethany certainly owed him a _very_ long explanation for every single thing that had happened since her disappearance. There was much of it that he didn't understand, which bothered him. He usually understood everything perfectly, and was the one who crafted the plans. Now, he was working in a _team,_ and he still didn't know if Doc Twilight was actually captured by Nobody.

He furrowed his brows. "If you fought Nobody in Jupiter City, won't he still be there?"

"I don't think so," Owen said, shaking his head. "He can travel between worlds. If I could guess, he'll be somewhere like a secret lair. Villains _always_ have those."

"Like that prison he put me and Kiel in," Gwen breathed.

"Do you know where that was?" Owen asked.

She shook her head. "Sorry, I would tell you if I did. But I don't."

Owen glanced expectantly at Kiel. "Kiel?"

"I know what the place looked like, but I'm not sure I could tell you where it was," Kiel said. "Not to mention, I don't think Bethany would be able to jump us into that. I don't think he was _in_ a book."

"But what if he is?" Bethany said. "Maybe we can use your location spell to find him."

"Sure, that could work."

"And if it doesn't?" Charm asked, looking irritated. "There's a definite chance that it won't work."

"That won't be a problem. My magic _always_ works." He glanced at Kara, pointing at Charm. "She's not big on magic."

"If it doesn't work, we'll have to figure something else out," Bethany said. "There has to be a way to track him." She looked at Owen. "Don't superheroes always track villains through energy trails or the makeup of mud from their footprints? Something like that?"

"Yeah?" Owen said.

"Then we can use something like that to find him!"

"I don't think that'll work," he said. "This isn't a comic book world. If Nobody wanted to be found, we would've found him by now. The location spell is the best option to find him, anyway." Then, he smiled. "And I don't think he has footprints!"

"Worth a shot."

Someone behind them cleared their throat, and they all quieted down, quickly turning around to face their waitress. For a moment, no one said anything. Orion cursed himself for not being more observant and realizing that the waitress was standing behind them. There was no telling what she'd heard. This wasn't good.

Kara coughed, breaking the silence. "Um, you didn't happen to hear anything we just said, did you?"

"No." The waitress looked confused. "I just walked over here now. Are you ready to order?"

"Yep!" Owen said, exhaling as he quickly flipped through his menu, which Orion was certain that the boy hadn't touched since they got here.

The woman nodded, and turned to Orion first, a pen raised over the notepad in her hand. "What would you like to get?"

* * *

It was a while later before they finished breakfast and made their way through town, where they searched tirelessly for the best hiding spot. So far, they'd just passed stores and houses, but going inside any of them would attract attention. And according to Kiel, his location spell would drawl plenty of attention if they weren't careful. _Especially_ since it was daytime.

So that meant they'd need to find an abandoned building — or anywhere deserted — where there wouldn't be anyone nearby. Unfortunately, while Kara had been to the 2000's plenty of times, she'd never been to this town before. The prison she'd been put in must've been far away from her own town, because she didn't recognize a single place here.

Not too long ago, Gwen had suggested the idea that she go ahead to search for the perfect place that they could cast Kiel's location spell at. Since she had a jetpack, it made it easy for her to fly above the buildings and look at their surroundings. Bethany had also gone with her, leaving the rest of them to wait for their return.

They were sitting on the sidewalk, all of them bored and lost in thought. Kara wasn't sure how long they'd been waiting, or if they'd wait much longer. She hoped Bethany and Gwen would return soon with good news. She could probably jump forward in time to the spot where they came back, but she went against it, out of fear that the time agents would track her down as soon as she used her time bracelet. Kara didn't want to put herself or her friends at risk.

After being locked in solitary confinement for nearly three weeks, she was more focused on things like the sun, and the sky, and even the cars that rolled across the street. Prior to her life as a prisoner, she never would've thought differently of it. But now, she felt to urge to take it all in, to appreciate it more than ever before. Being told countless times that she'd never escape had made her believe she wouldn't . . . and yet, here she was.

Free.

Another thing she was focused on was Owen, along with the other new faces that she'd met just this morning. She wasn't sure what to think of them all just yet, but she already knew that she liked Kiel and Bethany and Gwen. Orion, she hoped, would warm up to her eventually. As for Charm, Kara was almost positive that Charm had a disliking for her. Almost.

Kara still couldn't believe that she wasn't locked up anymore, that she was _free_. She wasn't sure if she'd ever been this content and happy. Not about the fighting Nobody part — that part would definitely be terrifying. No doubt about it. But right now, she didn't want to focus on her future, like she always did.

For now, she wanted to appreciate being with Owen again, who had crash-landed into her life just this morning. It was totally unexpected, and yet, it was the best thing that could've happened to her. Being separated from him had felt like the worst kind of pain. And reuniting with him had felt like the sun — literally — had reentered her life. Even in the face of danger, she felt more hopeful now that he was with her.

Unlike before, she was more than ready to leave her life as a prisoner behind. Maybe it was from the amount of times she'd been locked in a jail cell, or the way the time agents had hurt her, but she'd changed her mind about the whole thing. Locking herself up _wasn't_ going to stop the world from ending. Maybe nothing would, but she didn't want to turn herself into the TSA again because of it.

The only thing that still bothered her was the knowledge that the world was going to end in three days. The woman had told Kara that she wasn't even the cause of it, which was all the more shocking. Normally, Kara was always the cause of the end of the universe. No matter what. But this time, it was different.

Kara knew that she _had_ to tell Owen before it was too late, but she was nervous nonetheless. How would he react? This future was impossible to change, so there was no way that they could put a stop to it. If she told him, that might crush all of his hopes about defeating Nobody.

She didn't want to do that, but telling him _would_ be the right thing to do. Kara didn't think she could keep this a secret. She hated keeping secrets, especially from Owen. It'd been weighing on her ever since yesterday, giving her no other choice but to think about it over and over again.

Kara would just have to tell Owen about it later — maybe tonight — while everyone else was asleep. It would be the best time to catch him, and hopefully, he wouldn't be mad that she'd waited the entire day to tell him. Telling only him was the best option, because she hardly knew the others well enough to share what she knew.

It was hard to figure out if the woman was right about her _not_ being the cause of the world ending. Was that true? For all she knew, the woman could be lying. Kara tried to believe her words in an effort to feel more positive, but she couldn't bring herself to. After years of hearing that she was the destroyer of the universe, it was a hard thing to let go of.

And if she wasn't going to bring about the destruction of the universe in three days . . . who was?

"Blue car," Owen called out, his shoulder pressed up next to Kara's.

Squinting her eyes, Kara watched as more cars soared past them, rustling their hair. "Red car."

"Another blue car," he said, then added, "Two more!"

"Why aren't there any black cars?" Kiel asked from Owen's other side. "I've only seen like, five, in the past twenty minutes."

"Maybe black cars weren't as popular back then?" Owen suggested.

Kara nudged him with her shoulder, unable to help the grin from stretching across her face. "Of course they were! It's still the 21st century here."

"How would I know? I've never _been_ to the 2000's."

"It's not that different from your timeline." Two blue cars came into Kara's vision, and she shouted, "Blue car! _Two_ of them." She counted with her fingers. "So that makes fifteen for me, and nine for you."

Owen laughed. "It's not my fault that no one is driving red cars!"

"At least you're getting more points than I am," Kiel said, then pointed as a black-colored car rolled across the street in front of them. "Hey, there's a black one!"

"Could you all shut up?" Charm snapped loudly. "Your stupid game is getting on my nerves."

"We have nothing else to do until Bethany and Gwen come back," Owen said, but he didn't look very confident as he said it.

"You could _definitely_ do something else. For example, shutting up would be nice. I'd really appreciate it."

"We're good," Kiel said, winking at her. "This is more fun."

"How long have they been gone?" Orion asked abruptly, for what probably had been the fifth time.

"I don't know," Owen said, his expression turning worried. "It feels like they've been gone for ages."

Kara crinkled her eyebrows. "Should we look for them? They could be in trouble."

"They can handle themselves," Charm said, sending her a glare that made her shiver. "And if anyone goes to look for them, it'll be _me_. Not you." The words seemed to be directed at all of them, but Kara couldn't help but think that they were only directed at _her_. She didn't understand why the half-robotic girl was acting this way towards her, but she was getting some serious chilly vibes from her.

"We should still look for them," Kiel said. "They should've found a place for me to cast the location spell by now."

"Or maybe they can't find _us_ ," Owen suggested.

"Like I said before, they can handle themselves," Charm said.

"Not if they're kidnapped!"

"They don't need us running after them when they aren't in trouble."

"We don't _know_ if they aren't in trouble."

"Fine," Orion grunted, using his staff to hoist himself onto his feet. "Kiel, let's go find Bethany and Gwen."

"Why not me?" Owen frowned.

"You'll only slow me down. You, and paradox girl over there."

"What? No, we wouldn't!"

Something from a block away caught Kara's attention, and she quickly stood up. "Hey, I think I see them!"

"Really?" Kiel asked.

"Yeah!" Slipping her hand into Owen's, Kara ran over to the spot she'd seen, the others following right behind. However, the flash of movement that she'd seen was gone. They entered what turned out to be an empty alleyway, without a person in sight.

"Huh?" Kara looked all around her, but the only thing there were trash bags. "I could've sworn that I saw them!"

"Maybe don't jump to conclusions," Charm said. "Let's go—"

"Up here!" a voice hissed, and they all looked up to see Bethany crouching on the roof.

"Beth!" Kiel called, relief flooding into his voice. "Are you okay?"

"What are you doing up there?" Owen asked.

"Just get up here!" Bethany insisted, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Gwen was going to look for you guys. Wait one second." She disappeared, and they waited in silence until Bethany returned, now with Gwen. Turning on her jetpack, Gwen flew down towards them, landing gracefully on the ground.

Orion frowned. "Don't tell me you didn't find a place."

"Oh, we did!" Gwen said, a smile exploding over her face. "It took us a little while to get there, so it'll be easier this time since Bethany can just use her powers to get us there!"

"Powers?" Kara repeated, as she watched Gwen grab Charm and lift her up onto the roof. "Like, her half-fictional abilities?"

"She also has shape-shifting powers," Owen whispered to her.

"Did she get those from her father, too?"

"Sort of." He flashed her a smile, and her heartbeat quickened inside her chest. "It's complicated."

"Oh, okay." She paused, feeling slight dread. Ever since she'd met Owen, he'd introduced her to things like the nonfictional world and readers controlling him. It wasn't that she didn't believe him, but it was slightly hard to wrap her head around, since it was so much more complicated than her own world. "It's a nonfictional thing, isn't it?"

"Um . . . no, not really."

When Gwen returned, she hovered above the ground in front of Owen. "You ready, Owen?"

"Y-Yeah," Owen said, pulling his hand out of Kara's. He swallowed hard, eyeing the jetpack with slight nervousness. Gwen hooked her arms under his armpits, and they took off into the air. As they got higher, Kara could make out Owen's slightly panicked, slightly excited, face. They were only in the air for a few seconds before they landed on the roof, where Bethany and Charm were waiting.

It didn't take long before the rest of them were on the roof. Despite being seemingly strong, Gwen still had some trouble lifting Kiel and Orion, who were much taller than her. By the time Gwen finally swooped down to grab Kara, Kara was already ready, and lifted her arms, just like she'd seen the others do.

After getting a good grip, Gwen jammed on the jet pack's throttle, lifting them into the air. A cool wind whipped through Kara's short hair, blowing it out of her face. Her eyes widened as the ground left her feet, and her feet swung widely below her. She accidentally threw her foot out, kicking someone's window and shattering it in the process.

"Whoops," Kara muttered, as she heard yelling coming from inside the house. "Sorry I smashed your window!"

"Don't worry!" Gwen told her, giving her a cheerful smile. "It was only an accident. I'm sure they'll be able to get their window fixed."

Kara wasn't so sure about _that_ , but she didn't object. Gwen guided them away from the buildings, and they continued flying upwards until they landed on the roof. Kara's feet gently touched the surface of the roof, and Gwen let go of her arms. The other girl landed beside her.

"Took you long enough," Orion said.

"What happened down there?" Bethany asked, looking concerned.

"Nothing!" they both said, flashing her innocent smiles.

". . . 'Nothing'," Charm repeated, raising her eyebrows.

Deciding it was best to tell them, Kara added, "Well, I accidentally smashed someone's window."

Bethany's eyes grew wide. " _What_?"

"Seriously?" Kiel laughed.

" _Accidentally_ ," she repeated.

"Those poor people." Gwen glanced over the edge of the roof. "I hope they don't step on any of the shards of glass."

Orion stared at her. "That's what you're worried about?"

"Of course! I really hope they're okay. But on the bright side, we made it up here fine, and no one actually got hurt."

"But you smashed someone's _window_ ," Bethany said, her jaw dropped.

"Yeah!" Owen said. "That's horrible!"

Kara cringed, but she waved them off. "They'll live."

Sighing, Bethany turned to look at each of them. "I might have a really bad plan."

"What is it?" Owen hesitantly asked.

"It's not _that_ bad . . . but it's, you know, it might not work because we have so many people."

"Could you just tell us already?" Charm demanded.

"You'll see," the redhead said. "Give me some room, okay?"

They all backed away to give her space. Bethany closed her eyes, looking like she was deep in concentration. Then, her body disappeared, replaced by a small jet plane. Even though Owen had told her beforehand, Kara hadn't been expecting this. She stared at Bethany/the jet plane in shock, then looked at the others, who looked much less surprised than her.

"Get in!" Bethany's voice rang out from the loudspeaker.

Owen grinned. He swung open the door and rushed immediately to the pilot seat, where he sat down and spun around in the chair. "This is so _cool_."

"I'm taking that other seat!" Kiel shouted, and squeezed past Kara in the doorway to sit next to Owen. Orion silently walked over to them, analyzing the hundreds of buttons on the dashboard.

"What is this thing?" Gwen asked, her face filled with awe as she walked around the inside of the plane.

"You've never seen a jet plane before?" Kara asked her.

She shook her head excitedly. "No, but this really cool!"

Kara couldn't have disagreed if she tried. She might've been a time-traveler who was immune to paradoxes, but that didn't mean she was used to someone having abilities. She'd never met anyone with superpowers besides Owen, who had the ability to freeze time. Seeing a shapeshifter in real life _was_ really cool, and it was also efficient for getting them to places faster.

"This is an _antique_ ," Charm said as she entered the plane, looking around with disgust. She sat down on one of the comfy seats, leaning her arm against the arm of the chair. "It's a bunch of junk. Why didn't you turn into something better? Like a rocket ship?"

The jet plane suddenly shook, which caused the half-robotic girl to hit her head on the wall. Charm rubbed her head, a scowl on her face. "What was that for?"

" _Payback_ ," Bethany said through the inside radio, as Kiel and Owen laughed. "Now, we only need to get to the place that Gwen and I saw. Is everyone inside?" There were a chorus of yes's.

"Have I mentioned how incredible your powers are?" Kiel said. "Because they are." He leaned forward in his seat to grab the guidance sticks, but an alarm blared from inside the plane, making him and Owen jump.

"Hey!" Bethany shouted. " _I'm_ the one flying here." She paused. "And, uh, you might want to sit down first."

At her orders, Gwen and Orion went over to the chairs, where they sat down. Seeing that there weren't any other seats available, Kara walked over to the seat next to Charm's. The other girl didn't seem to be paying her any attention, so Kara sunk into the chair next to her, internally hoping that she wouldn't get yelled at. After all, she was starting to suspect that Charm hated her.

A burst of excitement went through her, not only from being on a jet plane for the first time but also because of the adventure that came with it. She was pretty sure that nothing could be boring anymore after the weeks of solitary confinement she'd gone through. Without even realizing it, Kara found herself smiling.

"Hold on!" Bethany said. "This might be a little rough." A second later, the jet plane whirred to life, and started to slowly roll across the roof.

"There isn't enough room!" Charm shouted. "You need to go fast if you want to take off into the air."

"I know. I've been on a plane before."

"I've never _been_ on a plane, but I'm pretty sure that we need to go on a runway," Owen said as he looked out the window. "This is someone's _roof_."

"Do you _see_ a highway?" Charm asked. "Because I don't. Bethany, how about you morph—"

"Can't we just . . . roll across the roof?" Kara interrupted.

Orion narrowed his eyes. "It's not big enough for that."

"No, I mean — look at all these people's roofs. They're flat, which means that we should be able to use them as a runway."

Gwen gasped. "That sounds so fun!"

"That is the dumbest idea I've ever heard," Charm stated. "It would never work."

"Not with that attitude," Kiel said, grabbing the guidance sticks again. "Let's go!"

"No, don't!" Owen shouted, pulling Kiel's hands away. "This is a crazy idea!"

"It is," Bethany agreed. "Hold on." Seatbelts suddenly formed around the seats, locking around each of them. "I guess we'll have to test it out."

" _What_? Are you trying to kill us?!"

"That's exactly what she's doing," Charm told him, then shouted, "If I die here, I'm taking you all with me!"

"We're going to be fine!" Gwen said. "I trust Bethany."

"Well, I hope you trust her enough to survive a crash-landing. Because I guarantee that that'll happen."

"It won't," Kara said, shaking her head.

"How would _you_ know?" Charm asked, directing a glare at her. "You don't know anything."

Gwen frowned, and looked like she wanted to say something, but Kara spoke up first.

"I don't — _what_?" Enough was enough. Kara furrowed her brows, feeling annoyed. "Am I missing something? What's your problem with me?"

The half-robotic girl scoffed, turning to stare out the window without even giving her a reply. Now wouldn't be the best time to confront her about it, Kara realized. She didn't want to keep being apart of this one-sided rivalry. It was pointless, and it confused her more than it angered her.

All of the sudden, the jet plane started forward. Kara held her breath, as they rolled across the roof, quickly gaining speed. They'd barely gained enough, however, before they sailed off the end of the roof. Everyone screamed as the jet plane flew through the air, then landed on the next roof. All of them lost their balance from the impact, and Kara fell onto the table in front of her.

"Turn left!" Kara heard Owen scream. "Turn left!"

"What?" Bethany shouted.

"There's a pole! Turn _left_!"

"Okay!" The jet plane suddenly lurched sideways. To Kara's relief, it quickly straightened out, allowing them to keep moving. It continued rolling across the next roof, then the next, then the next. Every jump got a little easier, and Kara found herself grinning once she realized that they weren't going to crash.

Charm glared up at the ceiling. "You're going to get us killed!"

"I can't believe it's _working_! This is so—" Owen pointed at something in the window. "Oh — oh no! Chimney! There's a chimney! Go right! Go _right_ —"

"Beth—" Kiel began.

"Everybody, shut up!" Bethany shouted as the jet plane veered to the right, making Kara's head slam into the table again. "I'm trying to focus!"

The plane sped up even faster until the objects in the window were zipping past. Kara quickly climbed back into her chair, holding on as tightly as she could as the ground trembled beneath her. There was a loud groaning noise coming from inside the plane's engine, which gave her an indication that this wasn't the best idea. But as long as they could get into the air, they'd be fine.

Finally, after rolling across the roof of one last house, they took off into the air. Pressure filled Kara's head, and she leaned back into her chair, breathing heavily as the jet plane ascended into the sky.

"We're alive!" Owen shouted, starting to laugh hysterically. Gwen joined in, steadily at first, then harder and harder. It must've been a side effect of the relief that they were all feeling.

"What's so funny?" Orion asked, irritation flitting across his face.

Gwen just shrugged, still giggling. "I have no idea!"

"We're almost there," Bethany reminded them, and the plane dipped down, straightening itself out.

Kara leaned across her seat to stare out the window, amazed at the scene below her. From this height, the buildings and cars looked like tiny specks in the distance. The only time she'd been this high above the ground was when her and Owen had climbed a volcano, and she doubted that that had been the same height.

"Do you see it?" Kiel asked, leaning forwards in his chair.

"Yeah. It's a few minutes away."

"Can't you go faster?" Charm said, kicking her foot into the ground. She huffed. "I still don't get what the point of morphing into a jet plane was about. Anyone will see us coming for _miles_."

"I'm going as fast as I can," Bethany said, sounding annoyed. The jet plane seemed to speed up slightly, only to abruptly slow down a minute later. All of them fell forwards again.

"What's happening _now_?" Owen asked, looking around worriedly.

"We're here."

Kara glanced out the window, but all she saw was a gigantic white building in the middle of a forest. Was that the place Bethany and Gwen had found? It must've been, because the plane was still slowing down. The jet plane tilted downwards, and all of the sudden, hundreds of pillows appeared all over the room. Helmets also appeared on each of their laps, and everyone hastily put theirs on.

"Oh," Owen said. "So does that mean we're going to find somewhere safe to park the—"

"Hold on," Bethany ordered. "We're gonna have a rough landing."

Everyone quieted down at that, and Kara saw the others brace themselves against their seat. She quickly moved to do the same. Her heartbeat quickened inside her chest. Even though she was surrounded by the pillows and was wearing a helmet, she still felt a shiver of fear — and excitement — race down her spine. Then, the jet plane tilted all the way towards the ground, and they began falling.

Kara's stomach dropped. Her first instinct was to hit her time bracelet and transport herself somewhere safer, but she fought against it. Despite her seatbelt, she still hovered about a foot in the air. Her hair was blown upwards, and she began to scream. Everything became a blur in her eyes.

She could hear the others screaming too, all holding onto their seats for dear life. It was the looks on her friends faces that made her fear lessen slightly. She nearly laughed at the sight of Owen, who was screaming the loudest of them all. As for Kiel, he seemed to be having the time of his life. The same could be said for Gwen, who had sheer joy in her eyes as they plummeted to the ground.

As they drew closer, an enormous pressure came from the ground, rocketing into Kara's body. She fell back into her seat, not even sure if she was still breathing. She realized that the jet plane was tilting upwards again, halting their fall ever so slightly.

"Stay in your seats!" Bethany shouted over the noise. "I have an idea!"

"Great," Orion said, looking furious now. " _Another_ idea."

Without warning, the jet plane around them vanished, and Kara was yanked out of her seat. She screamed again, this time in surprise. A strong gust of wind rushed up to her face, and it took her a moment to realize that they weren't on a jet plane anymore.

They were free-falling _in the air_.

"BETHANY!" Charm yelled from next to Kara. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Either Bethany was far away or the wind was too loud, but Kara didn't hear a response. The force of the wind caused her eyes to water. She couldn't breathe as she stared at the world below her, which was much closer than she'd anticipated. She waved her arms and legs around, trying desperately to halt her fall. As the trees rushed up to greet her, Kara felt something yank on her chest, and she was abruptly pulled upward.

Feeling confused and disoriented and relieved, Kara glanced above her and saw an enormous parachute, which was holding each of them. She heaved a sigh of relief. If Bethany hadn't turned into a parachute at the last second, Kara doubted she'd even be alive.

The adrenaline was still pumping through her as they slowly floated the rest of the way to the ground, giving her enough time to catch her breath. As soon as they landed on the grass, Kara collapsed to her knees, placing her hands in front of her. She looked up to see Owen sitting down, his eyes wide and his hair incredibly windblown.

"Wow," Kara said, flashing him a shaky grin. "Can't say I saw that coming."

"Me neither!" Then, he clutched his stomach as if he might throw up. "I think . . . I'm going . . . to be . . . sick . . ."

"You guys okay?" Bethany asked, and Kara looked over to see that she'd morphed back into her human form.

"Yes!" Gwen exclaimed. "That was _so much fun_!"

"That was _amazing,_ Beth!" Kiel agreed, and Kara glanced over to see an excited look on the boy magician's face.

Charm snorted, brushing blades of grass off of her robotic arm and leg. "I'm not surprised that you enjoyed that."

"It was fun," Kiel insisted. "As I always say: the more danger, the better."

"Not _that_ much danger. A warning would've been nice," Orion snapped, massaging his head. "We could've died."

"But we _didn't_ ," Bethany replied, flashing him a smile. He glared back at her. "Come on." She helped Owen to his feet before taking a shaky breath. "Let's go cast this spell."

Once all of them were back on their feet, Bethany and Gwen led the way, and the rest of them trailed behind. The path was long, and was filled with several dips and hills. Birds chirped above their heads as they made their way towards the large building, which — according to Bethany and Gwen — was completely abandoned.

"What is this place?" Kara asked, craning her head up to see the massiveness of the building.

"It's a hospital!" Gwen said, her tone cheerful as ever as she skipped ahead of them. "It's incredible. I've never seen a hospital like this before."

"A _hospital_?" She froze, thinking back to how she'd thought the prison had looked like a hospital, due to its white walls and metal doors. If this place wasn't actually a hospital, then it could mean that it was another prison that the Time Security Agency was in charge of. She felt uneasiness seep inside of her. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Bethany said. "When we went inside, there was medical equipment in each room."

"And it _was_ completely abandoned, right?" Kara asked, fidgeting with her time bracelet. "There weren't any closed metal doors or . . . cells . . . in there?"

"No." Bethany gave her an odd look. "There was no one there, I promise. We checked. If there _was_ someone here, we definitely wouldn't be coming here. It'd be too risky."

"Right," Kara said, relaxing a bit. She didn't know why she'd gotten so afraid all of the sudden. It was only a hospital. Not a prison. But any reminder of the time prison brought a painful feeling in her chest. All the _time_ she'd spent there, putting every ounce of blame on herself. It'd taken everything she had to stay sane and hopeful.

They started walking again. Out of the corner of her eye, Kara saw Owen give her a concerned look. She forced a smile back, letting him know that she was okay.

There wasn't anything to be afraid of, she told herself. The time prison might be impossible to forget, but there was no point in thinking about something that had made her feel horrible. Just because the time prison looked like a hospital from the inside _didn't_ mean that an actual hospital had anything to do with the TSA.

After crossing an eerily empty parking lot, the seven of them clambered up to the front double-doors. The whole place looked so run-down that Kara was tempted to jump backwards in time, just to see what it looked like when it was being used. She'd been wanting to time travel again for _months_ , after all. But it wasn't the time for that.

Gwen reached the door first, and pushed it open, holding it so the others could walk through. They entered what had once been a lobby, but the entire room was covered it dust. If it weren't for the light coming in from the windows, the hospital would've looked much creepier.

Gwen looked back at them with a smile. "So, this is it!"

"Ugh." Orion made a face. "This is the best you could find?"

"Well, yeah! It might look kind of creepy with all the cobwebs and stuff, but—"

"AHH!" Owen suddenly screamed, and all of them jumped. Kara's heart nearly stopped at the sound, and she immediately held up her fists. She whipped her head around — ready to jump to her best friend's aid — but all she saw was Owen . . . who faced what looked like two skeletons.

Kiel burst out laughing. "You're scared of _those_?"

Owen's face was bright red. "Shut up, Kiel!"

Charm's mouth twitched into a smile, the first one that Kara had seen on her. "That was actually enjoyable."

Kara rushed to Owen's side, gently touching his shoulder. She tried her best to stifle her laughter, but it was hard given the circumstances. "Are you okay?"

"F-Fine," he stammered. "I just wasn't expecting that to happen! Is no one else bothered by this?! There's literally two _dead people—_!"

"Those aren't even real," Bethany said, walking over to the skeletons that Owen had seen a moment ago.

"Wait, no—" Charm began, but it was too late. Bethany kicked her foot hard into one of the skeletons, and the half-robotic girl winced. But the skeleton didn't break, which was surprising. It looked so realistic.

Bethany looked back at them, a smug smile on her face. For emphasis, she kicked it again. "See? Not real."

"You're lucky they aren't," Charm said, as they began walking down the hallway again. "Skeletons are a useful contribution to science. I wouldn't have wanted it to go to waste."

"I think the people here _did_ use it for science," Kara said. "To study the anatomy of it, I'm guessing. Since doctors need it for people who break their bones."

"That's . . . correct," Charm replied, looking almost surprised at what she'd said. But her surprise quickly faded, replaced by the hard look that Kara had seen her wear.

"I still can't believe you thought those were _real_ ," Kiel said as he retrieved his wand-knives from his sheaths.

"They were real enough to _me!"_ Owen said, still looking flustered.

Bethany rolled her eyes. "You get scared so easily."

"Because of all the times you forced me to see horror movies with you!"

"You were _fine_." She almost smiled, then went to Gwen's side at the front of their group.

They continued walking in silence until they came across a waiting room, which had an assortment of chairs and tables. Just like the rest of the building, both the chairs and the tables had a thin layer of dust on it. Cobwebs had formed on some of them, which was a clear indication that this hospital hadn't been touched in years.

"Would this room work?" Gwen asked, her tone hopeful. They simultaneously all turned their heads to Kiel, who nodded, his expression becoming serious. He muttered some words under his breath, and a small ball of light appeared from his belt. Kara's eyes widened as the light grew bigger, expanding to the size of a huge spell book.

"Whoa," Kara breathed. It was one thing to _hear_ about Kiel, a boy magician who could cast magic spells. But it was another thing entirely to see it in action.

Kiel glanced at her, flashing her a wink. "Cool, huh?"

Picking up the book, he carried it over to one of the tables. He quickly dusted it off with his sleeve before dumping the monstrously huge spell book onto the table, where it jumped to life. As he kneeled on the floor, they all gathered around him, peering over his shoulder. Kiel closed his eyes, and the pages of the book started to flip so fast that Kara couldn't make them out.

The sound footsteps from down the hallway made Kara perk up. She quickly glanced up, expecting to see someone. But the hallway ahead of them was empty. After straining her ears for another sound, she didn't hear anything else. A shiver ran down her spine. It was probably just her imagination playing tricks on her, since they were sitting in an old, creepy hospital.

She returned her attention to the spell book, which had come to an abrupt halt, landing on the page that had the location spell. A warm glow radiated off of the book, and Kiel laid his hands on the page, allowing the light to slowly seep into his body. A moment later, the light quickly faded. If it hadn't been glowing a second ago, Kara would've mistaken the spell book for an oversized dictionary, or something along those lines.

Kiel began to speak the words for the location spell, and Kara held her breath as a ball of light appeared in front of his outstretched wand. She felt half-excited, half-nervous to see what would happen. It was magic, after all, and she wasn't used to seeing it.

All of them leaned forward, waiting to see where it'd go. For a moment, the ball hung in place, not even moving. Then, it sprung upwards . . . only to pause in midair. Instead of moving in a specific direction like Kara assumed it would, it stayed there, rooted to the spot.

"Why isn't it going anywhere?" Owen whispered.

"I-It did this when I tried using it to find my father," Bethany said, her eyes only on the ball of light.

The ball continued to hover in the air, as if unsure where to go. It darted left, then right, never staying in one area for more than a second. It started to shake, glowing brighter as it vibrated with more energy. The friends stared in mesmerized shock as the ball continued to shake. The ball of light soon became so bright that it was hard to look at, and they shielded their eyes.

A loud popping sound was heard next, and Kara had just enough time to see the ball of light exploding into tiny pieces. The pieces separated from each other, growing smaller and smaller as they did so. With every piece that broke off, the brightness died down more and more. Within seconds, the lighting in the room was back the normal. The ball of light was nowhere to be found. It'd turned into _light particles_.

Kara slowly lowered her hand from her eyes, her mouth hanging open. "Uh, was it _supposed_ to do that?"

"Not even a little bit," Kiel replied, while the others were shocked into silence. He glanced back at them with a wince. "Well, _that_ didn't work. Guess it's time for a plan b?"

" _How_ didn't it work?" Bethany demanded, jumping out of her seat. "Nobody's _here_ , in the fictional world!"

"Because it's _magic_ ," Charm grunted. "It's completely useless."

"Hey!" Kiel said. "My magic isn't useless! It usually always works."

"It didn't work this time."

"The spell couldn't find him because Nobody doesn't _want_ us to find him," Orion said. "You think the Dark wanted us to find him? No, he didn't. For that reason, it was nearly impossible to."

Bethany nodded. "Nobody must not be in a book, then."

"But if he's not in a book, how can we find him?" Owen asked. "He must be in one. Or maybe he's somewhere that just isn't reachable with a location spell."

"The location spell would've found him," Kiel said, frowning. "It's never wrong."

"It was wrong when I used it to find my dad!" Bethany shot back.

"But it's been right for _all_ the other times."

"Let's come up with another way to find him," Gwen piped up, raising her hands in a calm manner. "Yes, the location spell didn't work. So what? We don't need it. We can come up with another amazing idea to find him!"

Owen bit his lip. "Like what?"

"I . . . I have no idea," Bethany said, sounding nervous. "If the location spell can't find him, how will _we_ find him? I don't know how much luck we'll have with that."

"Unless we come across any paradoxes, maybe?" Kara asked hopefully, glancing at Owen.

"That sounds really cool!" Gwen said. "Could that help us find him?"

"It could," Kara said. "But it might take too long to find one."

" _How_ long?" Orion asked.

The thought of the world ending in four days popped into her mind, and she shrugged, saying, "Long enough."

"Okay, since we don't know where Nobody is, we need to find a source of reliable intelligence," Charm declared, pulling out her ray guns. "Someone who can direct us to him."

"But who would be able to do that?" Owen asked.

"That's the part we'll need to figure out," she said. "It's not _hard_. Once we do, the interrogation part will be easy. Kiel and I got it down to a routine that I call nice guy/smart girl. He'd be polite and I'd be myself."

"I remember that!" Kiel said, winking at her. "It's exactly like that good cop/bad cop thing."

Bethany looked wary. "How do we find someone who knows him? _We_ know him, and we don't know where he is."

"That's a good question."

"Guys," Orion spoke up, his eyes narrowed. "Someone _took_ _my staff_."

Charm flashed him an annoyed look. "Now is not the—"

"What?" Gwen gasped. "That's horrible!"

"I thought you had it with you the whole time," Bethany said, her eyebrows crinkled in confusion.

"I did too." Orion huffed. "But after we cast the spell, it vanished. So that leaves me with no other option. Who took it?"

"Don't look at me," Kiel said. "I was holding two wand-knives, _and_ I was casting a spell!"

"Bethany?" Orion questioned, walking over to her. He circled around her, clearly searching for his staff, but she wasn't holding anything.

" _Really_?" Bethany rolled her eyes. "I don't have it! I'm not even holding anything."

"Fine." He moved away from her. "Gwen?"

"Please." Charm snorted, as Orion went to Gwen next. "Gwen's too nice to steal anything."

Gwen gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I don't have it. I hope you find it, though."

Before Orion could reply, Charm said, "Don't even _think_ about searching me. I don't have your stupid staff."

Orion glared at her before sweeping his gaze across their group. " _Who has it_?"

"I don't," Kara told him, showing him her empty hands. "I was standing next to Owen, not you."

"Then that rules out one last person. Owen was standing closest to me. _He_ must've done it while Kiel was casting his spell! I _know_ he did."

"What?" Owen cried, quickly backing away as Orion advanced on him. "Hey, it wasn't me! I would never do something like that!"

"He wouldn't," Bethany agreed.

"Then who was it?" Orion remarked, crossing his arms. "Your evil twin?"

"Wait . . ." Kara looked at Owen, her eyes widening. "I might've heard footsteps earlier from down the hallway, but I didn't see anyone there."

"Someone else is here?" Kiel asked, turning his head in every direction.

"Well, I don't know," Kara said, feeling a bit embarrassed as everyone's eyes were on her. "I thought I only imagined it."

"And you didn't say anything?" Charm demanded.

"Because she wasn't sure!" Owen defended. "That explains a lot, because . . . I think I heard someone, too."

Bethany stiffened. "What?"

"It wasn't me that stole Orion's staff, because I was in the same spot the whole time!" Owen clarified.

"Who was it, then?" Orion asked, all of his patience gone.

"Someone I bet you weren't expecting," a cold, taunting voice said. Each of them whipped around, and what — more specifically, _who_ — Kara saw made her gasp. A boy was standing there, smirking as he held what undoubtedly looked like Orion's Twilight staff. But it wasn't that that shocked her. Even from a distance away, she would recognize his face anymore.

The boy looked exactly like Owen.

* * *

 _"_ _Cars are flipping, I'm in hot pursuit. My character's strong but my head is loose . . ."_


	33. Fowen's Plan

_**Baba O'Riley (by The Who)**_

 _"_ _Out here in the fields, I fight for my meals. I get my back into my living . . ."_

* * *

Bethany was certain that they'd had everything under control. But that certainty didn't last very long. As soon as Kiel's location spell had failed to find Nobody, shock — quickly replaced by determination and irritation — had went through her. She had expected it to work. She'd been mentally preparing herself for their fight with Nobody, trying to feel hopeful that they'd defeat him. It was hard to, especially when Nobody had already captured her father.

Internally, she'd been worrying over every little thing that could happen to her, her father, and her friends. Bethany had tried to be careful to keep her friends safe, but time and time again, they kept falling into danger. A part of her enjoyed the fights and the adventure, but the other part grew increasingly worried.

She knew that she couldn't let her worries hold her back. A few years ago, back when she was jumping into books, she'd always held herself back, afraid that her father could never be found. But she knew where he was now. Her father was with Nobody. Wherever that was, he was surely suffering. Saving him was the most important thing to her. If she lost him again . . . she wouldn't know what to do. The idea only made her worry _more_.

It wasn't uncommon for her to worry. She had no idea what would happen when they found Nobody, and that freaked her out. They'd made up a decent plan, though, which made Bethany feel a bit better about things. If they had a plan, the whole thing felt more controllable. Almost like they'd win this fight against Nobody.

But once Fowen, Owen's _fictional self_ , walked into the room, Bethany knew that _nothing_ was under control.

" _Fowen_?!" Bethany, Owen, and Kiel shouted at the same time, sharing equal looks of surprise.

"Don't act so surprised," Fowen said.

"Owen, I didn't know you had a brother!" Gwen said.

Kiel shook his head, not taking his eyes off of Fowen. "That's not his brother."

"Oh, great." Charm glared at Owen. "So Owen has a _clone_ , too." Then, in a hushed tone, she muttered, "How many of him will I have to deal with?"

"He's not my—" Owen sighed. "That's Fowen, my fictional twin." He turned back to Fowen, a look of disgust on his face. "Are you _kidding_ me? You? Again?"

"Yes, _me_ ," Fowen said, rolling his eyes. "I'm not happy to see you either, by the way. You shouldn't be complaining about me."

"Oh, _really_? And why's that?"

"Because I'm going to do you a favor—"

He had the nerve to show up here and say he was doing them a _favor_? Was he kidding? After everything that had gone down, with Fowen attempting to steal Owen's story, almost drowning Bethany, and causing Kiel to lose his magic . . . he expected them to listen to him. That would _never_ happen, not in a million years.

"A _favor_?!" Bethany scoffed. "We don't want any favors from you!"

"Hey! You'll be thanking me once you know what my favor _is_. I know how to—"

Before Bethany knew it, she was moving towards him. Once he realized she was coming for him, Fowen quickly backed away, but Bethany was faster. She grabbed him by the shirt, then ripped the Twilight staff from his hands. She tossed it behind her, where Orion caught it easily.

"Was that necessary?" Fowen asked, quickly wrenching himself out of her grasp.

"How did you get out of the book I left you in?" Bethany demanded, anger coursing through her veins. She slowly breathed in and out, feeling the urge to punch him right then and there.

"And how did you find us?" Owen asked, sidling up next to Bethany. "What are you _doing_ here?"

"Those are a lot of questions," Fowen stated.

"Yeah, and we expect you to answer them," Kiel told him, flashing a wink at him. "Don't want you trying to kill us again, do we?"

Owen's fictional self rolled his eyes. "That happened a long time ago. I'm not your enemy. We're on the same side here."

"Oh yeah?" Bethany glared at him. "So who was it that tried to drown me and steal my powers?"

"You tried to _drown_ her?" Orion asked, his voice threatening and low.

Fowen glanced between them, looking almost guilty. It was a look she'd seen on Owen's face numerous times, but Fowen, of all people? Bethany wasn't buying it for a second. All he cared about was himself! He'd shown that when he'd revealed himself as pretending to be Doyle, all so he could trick and steal from them.

"In my defense, I don't want your powers anymore," Fowen said finally.

Kiel raised his eyebrows. "So you want something else from us, then?"

Fowen growled in frustration. "No, I _told_ you why I'm here. I'm going to pay you back, okay? Think of it as a peace offering. To do you a—"

"Favor, right," Bethany interrupted, finishing his sentence. "Which we'll _never_ agree to."

"I think you will once you hear it."

"No, we won't," Owen said. "I don't trust you!"

Fowen looked at him. "You think _I_ trust you? I don't. But if you listen to me, we can benefit each other."

Bethany narrowed her eyes. "Who. Let. You. Out."

Fowen sighed. "It was Nobody, okay? He found me not too long after you left me there."

All of their eyes went wide.

Owen groaned. " _Nobody_ let you out? Why would he bother?"

The other boy turned to glare at him. "Shut up, Nowen! Your opinion is worthless here!"

Kara furrowed her brows. "Excuse me?"

That was it. Already sick of Fowen — plus due to the fact that he'd insulted her best friend — Bethany stormed forward, anger flooding through her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kiel moving forward too. But before either of them could grab Fowen, Gwen latched onto Bethany's arms, and Orion grabbed Kiel.

"Please don't hurt him!" Gwen said quickly. Apparently sensing that Bethany wasn't going to do anything potentially harmful, Gwen let go of her. "He might be evil, but he still has a right to speak."

" _Thank_ you," Fowen said. "See? I don't even know who she is, and _she_ gets it."

" _No insulting Owen,_ or else I'm seriously going to punch you," Bethany warned. "Just tell us the truth. If you're helping Nobody capture us or something, then we can't do anything you tell us."

"I'm not working with him!" He scoffed, looking offended. "If I were, I wouldn't have come here without some type of disguise."

" _That's_ reassuring," Owen muttered.

"So you must know where he is, then," Charm said, pointing a ray gun at Fowen. The boy flinched as the ray gun began powering up. "I'll give you three seconds to tell us. Three . . . two—"

"I don't know where he is, I swear!" Fowen said, holding his hands up in surrender. "I haven't seen him in months."

"You saw him recently?" Kiel asked.

Fowen nodded. "He came to visit me. Told me what he was doing, and what he was planning. I had proved myself helpful to him, but after I had helped him steal that light machine from Bethany's dad—" He glanced at Orion. "And his sidekick by pretending to be Nowen."

Orion clenched his jaw. "I remember you, now. You _stole_ from me."

Owen blinked in surprise. "You _pretended—"_

"That's not relevant anymore. That was years ago!" Fowen said quickly, as Bethany felt her rage building up. "Forget about that. After I helped Nobody with that, he stuck me in that prison of his. He never took me out of there until a few months ago, to tell me what was going on. I didn't agree to help him, so he let me go back to my hometown. I haven't seen him since."

"Oh, that makes it so much better!" Bethany said, rolling her eyes. "You worked with Nobody, and now you show up and expect us to listen to you? For all we know, you could still be working for him."

"Exactly," Owen said.

"That's where you're mistaken," Fowen hissed. "As much as I loathe admitting it, we're _on the same side_. You think I want to get turned into pure possibility and get erased? There's no way Nobody would ever bring me back. I want to take him down too, except I haven't been able to find him anywhere. And I know that you haven't either."

"How would you know that?" Charm demanded, giving him an intimidating look.

"Because I've been watching you, okay?"

Owen frowned. "That's creepy."

"I know that Kiel's location spell isn't working, so I can tell you how to find him," Fowen continued, watching for their reactions. When they said nothing, he added, "There's this place I heard about, which should have a magical cave, if I'm remembering correctly. Inside the cave is a stone that grands you any wish. You can only use it once every hundred years, but it _always_ works. It can take you to Nobody."

"Like in _Aladdin_ ," Owen said, his eyes lighting up. "But how should we know you're telling the truth?"

"Yeah," Kara said, glaring at Owen's fictional twin. "From what I've heard, and I don't think _I'd_ ever want to trust you."

"Me neither," Orion said darkly. "You're obviously on Nobody's side."

Irritation passed over Fowen's face. "No, I'm _not_! I don't want to the worlds to disappear as much as you do! This concerns me, too. I'm fictional!"

"So?" Bethany said. "Nobody could just bring you back later after he wipes out everything."

"But he won't."

"Guys," Gwen spoke up. "He _wants_ to help us. Maybe we should listen to his idea. We know that we haven't been able to find Nobody with Kiel's location spell. Maybe this is great opportunity, or maybe we'll find a better one. But we should try to listen."

Bethany didn't like the idea of listening to Fowen at all, but Gwen was right. Somehow, Gwen was _always_ right. They needed to find Nobody, and Kiel's location spell wasn't allowing them to do that. If they went with Fowen's idea, then maybe . . . it would work.

But the thing was, not a single part of her trusted Fowen. It was impossible to. He was a liar and a traitor! She needed to be cautious, especially after he'd helped Nobody. He'd proven himself to be skilled at lying when he'd pretended to be Doyle. He could easily be lying right now.

Owen bit his lip. "Yeah, I guess so. We all want to defeat Nobody . . . right?" He warily glanced at Fowen, who nodded wordlessly.

"Wait." Kiel held up a hand. "He could easily be lying. We should cast a Fog Of Truth spell on him."

"Good idea!"

"Fog of . . . what?" Kara asked.

"He's forced to tell us the truth, no matter what," Kiel said, a grin forming on his face. "And if he doesn't, his brain will apparently collapse." He shrugged. "That's what the Magister used to tell me, at least."

Fowen rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. You can trust what I'm telling you! You don't need some stupid spell to prove it."

"We _do_ need a spell for that," Bethany pointed out. "The last time we trusted you, you hurt Owen and tried to steal my powers. So _sorry_ if I'm a little untrusting." She nodded to Kiel, signaling for him to cast the spell. They watched as Kiel murmured some words, and a weird sort of fog drifted from Kiel's wand-knives and flowed into Fowen.

"Are you on Nobody's side?" Bethany asked.

"I was," Fowen said, then winced as more of the magic entered his system. "I mean — kind of? He said he'd help me get revenge on Bethany, but then after I helped him steal the light machine, he threw me in that prison of his. So no, I'm not working with him. Nobody only works to benefit himself. The only person he's allowed to work with him that _hasn't_ been put into his prison is the Magister."

Kiel's eyes widened, and he clenched and unclenched his fists. "So it's true? The Magister really is working with Nobody?"

Bethany felt her heart twinge at the disappointed look on Kiel's face. She wasn't very surprised to know that the Magister, of all people, was working with the evilest person on the planet. But she remembered that Kiel used to have a special bond with the Magister, thinking of him as almost a father figure. It must've been hard for him to hear that his former teacher was working with Nobody.

"Yeah. You didn't know?" Fowen smirked. "Of course you didn't. You were in Magisteria, too busy writing a spell to properly notice anything that was going on around you."

"That sounds like him," Charm muttered.

"A spell for a _good cause_ ," Owen cut in, shooting her a look. "Let's go back to this cave you were telling us about. I don't trust you, but . . . since you _are_ telling the truth, this could help us find Nobody."

"I don't think this is a good idea. It could be a trap, Owen!" Bethany hissed at him. He didn't look at her, and chose to stare expectantly at Fowen. Really? Why was he even believing what Fowen had to say? Fowen had _tortured_ Owen, and he deserved to suffer for it. Following along with this plan was a stupid idea! Kind of useful if it worked, but still stupid!

She glanced around at her other friends, who — aside from Gwen — looked wary. She knew that none of them felt very good about listening to Fowen, and Bethany felt the exact same way. After everything he'd done, how could they trust him? She didn't feel comfortable without having the knowledge of what might happen. There were too many horrible ways that this could go.

Butterflies had lodged in her stomach, but not the good, euphoric kind. It was an all-too-familiar feeling, and she had it more often than not. Whenever her emotions got hectic, the feeling grew worse until her stomach felt as though it was twisting itself into knots.

"She's right," Charm said, and they all looked over at her. "Why should we even agree to this?"

"It might be our only option," Owen said quietly. "And he's telling the truth . . . he's not working with Nobody."

"He wasn't working with Nobody when he tried to drown me and hurt _you_!" Bethany said, her voice growing louder with every second. "He wasn't working with Nobody when he stole Kiel's spell book and wands! He might not be working with Nobody now, but he wasn't back then, either! That's the whole problem with —" She gestured at Fowen. " _This_! He can't be trusted."

Owen stared at her, looking at a loss for words. There was nothing he could say to disagree with her, because it was _true_. She shook her head and turned to Fowen, feeling annoyed. "Are you trying to betray us again?"

Without even a hint of a lie, Fowen said, "No."

"Fine." Bethany sighed. "What's the plan?"

That was all that she'd needed to hear from Fowen, and yet, she still didn't trust him. She guessed that she never would. If it was up to Bethany, she would never allow Fowen to help them. But it wasn't her choice. Now that they knew Fowen wouldn't try to betray them, they'd have to go along with his plan.

"Like I said, inside the cave is a stone that grands you any wish," Fowen said. "No one in the book ever ends up finding it, which I think is a complete waste. But you can't reach the cave without a group. And by group, I mean the summer camp that they have set up. It's a summer camp for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts."

"What's a summer camp?" Gwen asked.

"It's, um . . ." Owen glanced at Bethany. "It's a place that you can go to in the summer. They usually have lots of arts and crafts, and different games you can do. It's really fun."

"Yeah, but that's a _nonfictional_ summer camp," Bethany reminded him. "This is different."

"Still a summer camp!"

"So we'd have to blend in?" Kara asked, looking far more interested now.

Fowen nodded. "That's the only way you won't look out of place. Anyway, the scouts go on missions outside their camp to earn these badges, but they won't be going anywhere near the cave. You can't leave without a group, so you'd have to blend in with them, go with them on one of their missions, and sneak off to find the cave. It's simple."

"Simple?" Orion repeated slowly, narrowing his eyes. "Simple could mean a lot of things. What are we facing here, exactly?"

Kiel frowned a bit. "All all we have to do is get that stone from the inside of the cave, right? Yeah, that sounds easy to me."

"Getting there should be easy. The only difficult part might be finding the stone, since it's hidden in the cave," Fowen said. "I'm not sure how big it is, but it shouldn't be dangerous with the amount of people you have."

"'Shouldn't be'?" Bethany repeated, exasperated. "Is it dangerous or not?"

"I don't exactly know. I've never been inside. But I _know_ that the stone is in there."

"And you're sure it'll help us find Nobody?" Owen asked.

"Positive," Fowen said, then winced as more fog flowed into his head. He made a growling noise. "I _hate_ this stupid spell. No, okay? I'm not sure if it can do that, _Nowen_. But it's your call on whether or not you want to go through with this. I don't really care what happens to you."

"Okay, Fowen," Owen said quietly, not looking at any of them. "We'll do it."

"Smart choice. Now, for the blending in part, you can use one of Kiel's disguise spells to create the uniforms. Once you do that, everyone will think you belong there, so you should be able to find the cave _easily_."

"What if we don't find it?" Charm challenged.

"You will. It's the only cave there. The forest —- the one that the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts always take on their missions — isn't big."

She massaged her forehead with her hand. "This is the most Kiel Gnomenfoot-like garbage idea I've ever heard."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Kiel said, smiling at her.

She glared at him in silence, then turned away and walked away from them, muttering not-so-pleasant things under her breath.

Kara knitted her eyebrows together. "So it's just a regular summer camp, aside from a random stone that's laying around in a cave?"

"Yes," Fowen said.

Orion harrumphed. "I hate this already."

Gwen smiled brightly at him. "It'll be fun. You see!"

"No, I really don't think so."

"Wait, what's the book called?" Bethany asked Fowen, just to be sure that he even knew where this place was.

"It's called _Scouting,_ " Fowen informed her.

Bethany stared at Fowen for a moment before grabbing Owen by the arm, pulling him away from the group. "Owen, we don't know if this will work."

"But what if it does?"

"This is _Fowen_ we're talking about. He might be telling the truth, but he doesn't even know if this cave is dangerous."

"I know," Owen whispered back. "But it's the only way to find Nobody! Can _you_ think of another way?"

She shook her head. ". . . No."

"See? Then we _have_ to do this."

"This doesn't have anything to do with wanting to be a hero, does it?" Bethany asked, and his eyes widened. "Because this doesn't sound fun to me."

"Nothing sounds fun to you!"

"Can you just answer my question?"

"It's not . . . about being a hero," Owen said quickly, and Bethany could detect a hint of remorse on his face. "I get that you're suspicious, Bethany, but I really _do_ think that this is the best option for us."

"Even though Fowen is telling us?" Bethany asked, glancing nervously at Fowen.

"Hey, I don't trust him either," he replied. "He's completely evil and crazy! _But_ we used the Fog of Truth spell on him. He won't betray us. He wants the same thing we want: to defeat Nobody."

She sighed deeply, stepping away from him. "I seriously hate it when you're right."

For the first time since Fowen had arrived, Owen smiled. "I know."

All of the sudden, Bethany heard a banging noise, and they turned around just in time to see Charm throwing a punch into Fowen's face. Everyone gasped. Bethany's mouth dropped open, and she could only stare in shock as Fowen fell to the ground, completely unconscious.

Well, at least they didn't have to worry about him following them _._

"What did I say?" Charm shouted as she stood above Fowen, her face contorted in anger. Her fists were curled into balls. " _What did I say?!_ "

"Was there a reason you just punched him?" Kara asked, frowning.

"He said something to annoy me! That was a good enough reason!"

"I think that was directed at you this time," Kiel said to Owen, who gulped.

"Probably," Owen whispered back.

* * *

Despite every sign that pointed to a book about summer camp, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts being a children's book, Bethany couldn't find it _anywhere_ in the children's section. She and Kiel had been scouring every inch of the children's section, but after nearly twenty minutes of searching, there was nothing to be found. It made her wish that Owen's mother was still here, because she knew where every single book was located.

Since Owen had surprisingly never heard of the book that Fowen had told them about, they spent the next hour in the library, searching through the rows of books for anything that resembled it. They all had split up to speed up the process, but so far, none of them had found the book. It was hard to find it when they didn't know the author, too.

"Where to next, Beth?" Kiel asked as they met back up again, both empty-handed. "Fantasy section?"

"Aren't Owen and Gwen doing that section?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't hurt to check!"

She groaned. "I feel like we should've found it by now. Why wouldn't a book about summer camp be in the children's section? Where else could it be?"

"Hmm." Kiel looked thoughtful for a moment, then grinned out of nowhere and motioned for her to follow him as he walked out of the children's section. They passed the sci-fi section, the romance section, and the self-care section until they finally came across the young adult section. "Looks like no one is checking this section."

"This is the young adult section," Bethany said as they walked into the first aisle, which was filled with books that resembled nothing about summer camps. "That means it's only about _teenagers_. Only kids go to summer camps!"

He smiled. "I may not be _completely_ sure about what a summer camp is, but I do know that 'young adult' still counts as a kid."

She stared at him. "It counts as a teenager."

"Either way, don't teenagers go to summer camps?"

Bethany shrugged. She assumed so, but unlike many people her age, she'd never even _been_ to a summer camp before. It must've never crossed her mother's mind, either, because she'd never been forced to go to one.

Her entire childhood had only consisted of her jumping into books in her free time, since she'd never had any friends before she met Owen. It made her feel a twinge of sadness, to know how much of a childhood she'd truly missed out on. She must've been the only girl in the world who never did exciting things, such as summer camps, as a child.

"Let's see if this section has it," Kiel said. He start scanning the rows of books, giving her no other option but to do the same.

"Do you think this is a good idea?" Bethany asked quietly as she started looking through the first row of books on the opposite end.

"Yeah. The young adult section might have it!"

"No, not _this_." She glanced back at him. "I mean, going along with Fowen's plan."

He paused. "Oh, that. Well, I think it'll be okay. How dangerous could a summer camp be?"

"Wait until I show you the Percy Jackson books."

"Oh, Owen loves those books!" He smiled, and she returned the smile without even realizing it.

"Yeah, he does. And there were _tons_ of dangerous things that happened in there. Like monsters invading their camp." She shuddered, remembering the time that she'd jumped into _Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian_ , right as a monster had attacked.

"Monsters are enjoyable to fight," Kiel said, adding his signature wink.

"That's — that's not the point," Bethany said, shaking her head. "The point is that this summer camp that we're going to might have something like that."

He frowned. "Fowen said that this summer camp was completely normal. We should be fine, Beth."

"I guess you're right." She resumed her process of looking for the book. "But this whole thing: going to this summer camp that we hardly know anything about, all to find a magical stone that's in a cave? I feel like we shouldn't be doing this. We should find an easier way."

"My location spell was the easiest way," Kiel admitted softly. She felt his eyes on the back of her head, but she didn't turn around. "As much as I hate Fowen, I don't think we have any more options. And besides, at least we'll get to go to a summer camp. That's cool, huh?"

Bethany turned back to face him. It seemed like the only thing she could do was worry about this, and she wished the feeling would go away already. "Nonfictional summer camps are always the same thing. But for all we know, it could be super dangerous."

"You're afraid," he said in realization, and he wasn't asking.

"Yes." She nodded slowly, her stomach twisting itself even more into a knot.

"Just relax, okay?" He smiled reassuringly at her. "You don't have to be scared. Everything will be okay, you'll see. Even if something bad does happen, there's no point in worrying over it."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She knew that he was right, but it was something she'd heard plenty of times from him. Didn't he know her well enough by now? She _always_ seemed to worry. Telling her that there was "no point in worrying over it" was like telling a depressed person to "just be happy". It was completely impossible, and it wasn't good advice.

"It's not that easy," Bethany said, furrowing her brows. "I don't think I'll ever be able to stop worrying. It's impossible."

"Hey, nothing is impossible! It's only impossible if you _believe_ it is. You can't let fear take control over you. You just have to let things . . . happen."

"Easy for _you_ to say." She felt the urge to smile. "Is that what you do, just accept what happens?"

Kiel shrugged. "I guess so. What else can you do?"

"Worry about it."

He tilted his head. "Does that help?"

Bethany sighed. "No."

Kiel gave her a look that clearly said _see?,_ and walked over to sit beside her. He patted the ground next to him, and she sat down, leaning her back against the bookcase. She knew that they were probably wasting time by doing this, when they were supposed to be looking for the book. But at the moment, she didn't care.

It felt nice to relax for a moment, to talk to Kiel, who always knew what to say. His very presence seemed to make her world shine brighter. His words were like magic; they never failed to soothe her. She wasn't sure if she'd even spent alone time with him within the past few days, but it felt nice now that she was.

"What are you so afraid of?" he asked, his voice soft and concerned.

She looked at him, contemplating what she could say. At this point, she was terrified of what might come in the future. There was so much responsibility on her shoulders, to save the fictional worlds and defeat Nobody. She wouldn't accept what would happen if it didn't work. That wasn't an option. But what if it _didn't_ work? What if her friends got hurt? What if something terrible was happening to her father, and she'd never be able to save him? What if—

"Honestly?" Bethany said, shaking herself out of her whirlwind of thoughts. "This entire situation. With how much danger we've gotten into, I don't want this to go badly." She dropped her head into her arms.

"I thought you _liked_ danger," Kiel said. "It's exhilarating! I always see you smiling when you're fighting villains."

She ignored him. "And then once we're done finding this stone . . . we'll have to fight Nobody."

"Don't you want to fight him?"

Her eyes widened, and she looked over at him. "Yeah! Of course. I . . . I don't know. I don't even know how to fix this. What happens if we can't? Think of what someone like Nobody will do if he rewrites the fictional world."

Kiel nodded. "I have been. It's . . . unpleasant to think about. But don't worry, we'll beat him."

"Will we?" Bethany said, still looking at the ground. "Last time we fought him, he escaped from the chains we put him in. What if that happens again?"

"Sure." He made a face. "It could."

She hit him on the shoulder. "Kiel! Don't tell me that. This is a serious conversation!"

"Fine." He laughed. "That won't happen this time, because _you—"_ He jabbed a finger into her hand. "Have _me_. That was your first mistake when you and Owen went to Jupiter City without me. My incredible spell-casting will save us all."

Bethany couldn't help but smile. "You aren't as incredible as you say you are. You do know that, right?"

He nudged her on the shoulder. "Oh, so you still think I'm incredible?"

She blushed. "I never said that."

"You just did."

"No I _didn't_."

"It's okay, Beth. You don't have to admit it if you're afraid to."

She rolled her eyes. "So how about you? Are _you_ scared?" she teased, trying to hide her smile but failing miserably.

"Me, Kiel Gnomenfoot? _Scared_?" Kiel winked at her, a mischievous grin on his own face. "Never would anyone dare to accuse _me_ of being scared!"

"I just did!" Bethany laughed. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I can think of a number of things! Maybe I'll turn you into a book. You'd fit in perfectly—"

She smacked him on the arm again. "Shut up!"

Grinning, Kiel withdrew his wand-knives from his sheaths. "Want to test it out?"

Bethany felt a jolt of fear, and she scooted away from him. "No!"

He dramatically raised one of his wands and pointed it at her. "And you said _I_ was scared!"

"Don't you dare!" she shouted as he began to murmur something. "Kiel, I _swear_ —"

"What's going on?" a gruff voice asked from the end of the aisle, and they both turned to see Orion standing there, his arms crossed.

"Orion!" Bethany said, her eyes widening.

Kiel straightened up. "That was bad timing. I was about to turn her into a book. Preferably a Kiel Gnomenfoot book, because that's the _best_ kind of book." He grinned.

Orion just stared at them. "I don't even want to know. Have you been looking for that book that Fowen told us about, or have you been sitting there the entire time?"

"Of course we were," Bethany snapped.

He raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, I can totally see that."

"We _were_ looking, I swear."

"Sure."

"She's right," Kiel insisted. "We were!"

"Not helping," Bethany hissed.

He gave her a hurt look in response, then stood up. His eyes drifted to a shelf above her head, and he exclaimed, "Ah-ha!"

"What?" Orion and Bethany asked together.

As Bethany got to her feet to see what he was looking at, Orion walked over to them. Reaching up, Kiel pulled a book off of the top shelf, right above where Bethany had been sitting. He showed it to them, and sure enough, the word "Scouting" was written on the front cover.

"Told you it was in the young adult section," Kiel said, giving her a triumphant smile. "I'll go get the others."

Without warning, he leaned down and quickly kissed her on the cheek. It only lasted for a second, but the moment he came in contact with her, there was an overwhelming jolt of electricity that coursed through her body. He ran away, leaving her standing there in shock. She reached up and touched the spot where he'd kissed her, feeling warm and fuzzy all over. She couldn't process it. Had that actually just happened?

"What was that all about?" Orion asked as he stared at her, looking just as shocked.

"Uh . . ." Bethany said, her face growing hot. "No idea. It was probably nothing."

A tiny, mocking smile appeared on his face. "'Probably nothing?' I hate to break it to you, Bethany, but not even a _blind_ person could tell you that that boy doesn't has feelings for you. I don't know _why_ he would—"

She pointed a finger at him. "Don't you _dare_ tease me about this, Orion. From now on, any conversation about my love life is off limits!"

"You have a love life? I _never_ would've seen that coming."

Bethany groaned loudly, feeling the most embarrassed that she'd probably ever felt. "Would you drop it already? I'm sick of hearing Owen say that Kiel has a crush on me! Now you, too? I don't want to talk about this!"

"If you don't want to talk about it anymore, _drop_ it," Orion said, and she glared at him. If he wasn't her father's sidekick/adopted brother, she'd probably punch him right then and there. Of course, she doubted she had the upper arm strength to do it, even if he _was_ really annoying her.

"We. Aren't. Talking. About. This."

"We are right now."

"Okay, but there is _nothing_ going on between me and Kiel!"

"I can see that," he replied, and before she could say anything else, he walked away.

Bethany felt her irritation rising, and she called after him. "It's true!" But he either didn't hear her or chose to ignore her, because he continued walking. Ugh. She'd never hear the end of this. Orion was going to hold this over her head forever. She _hated_ it when he did that.

As soon as Orion had walked out of view, she found a small, uncontrollable smile exploding onto her face at the knowledge of what had just happened. She slowly reached up to touch her cheek, which was still tingling. She felt weirdly jittery, almost like she'd had too much caffeine. And she _rarely_ drank coffee.

So _this_ was how Owen had felt when Kara had kissed him on the cheek. It all made sense now.

She couldn't help but wonder if the whole thing had been her imagination. Had Kiel really kissed her on the cheek? Was that just a friendly thing to do, or did he like her, like Owen had claimed? What did it mean? She felt so confused. Her first instinct was to run to Owen, to tell him what had happened. But she couldn't tell him. He'd only make fun of her, just like Orion had!

Oh _no_. If he _liked_ liked her, would that change anything? Did she like him too? She must've been overthinking too much, because she wasn't even sure. It was hard to tell, with the way she was feeling. Her emotions were all over the place, but mainly, she felt good.

The most astonishing part of all was that she didn't hate the fact that he'd kissed her on the cheek. It'd been embarrassing, sure, but a part of her had liked it. She wasn't sure if she'd ever experienced a feeling like that before, to feel so exhilarated and carefree and flustered all at once. She didn't know how to deal with it, or if she was only overthinking everything.

She figured that the feelings had always been there, yet she didn't know how deep they were, or what they meant. She'd always been aware of them, but she'd pushed the complicated feelings aside, telling herself to think about something else. Now, it was all she could think about.

. . . At least for the next few minutes, until they went inside a potentially dangerous book about summer camps and magical stones.

She quickly caught up with Orion, and the two of them walked briskly towards their friends, who were starting to gather near the computers. When they arrived, Kara was sitting in a chair, scrolling through pictures on the computer. Owen, Gwen, Kiel, and Charm watched over her shoulder, mostly blocking Bethany's view.

"Uh, what are you guys doing?" Bethany asked. All of them turned around to look at her, but Kara was the one who answered first.

"Fowen said that we needed a disguise, so while you guys were doing that, I looked up Boy and Girl Scout designs online." She pointed at the computer, and Bethany and Orion walked forwards to see what was on the screen. Sure enough, there were various photos of costumes that Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts wore.

Orion looked disgusted. "You have to be joking. I have to wear _that_?"

Kara smiled. "If you wanna blend in, yes."

"Remember, it's for the purpose of our quest!" Owen reminded them. "We all have to wear it."

"You're just excited to wear a Boy Scouts uniform," Bethany told him. He grinned in response, confirming her thoughts.

"Whatever," Charm said. "Let's just get this over with."

"This is going to be fun," Kiel said, winking at them. He peered forward to stare at the computer again, before sitting down on the floor, where his spell book was laying. As he came close to the spell book, it instantly jumped to life, flipping its pages faster than Bethany could see. It came to a stop near the back of the book, showing the disguise spell.

Kiel placed his hands on the page, and a warm light seeped into his body, just like she'd seen hundreds of times. Once the glow faded, Kiel pulled away and stood up abruptly. He glanced at the computer screen again before facing Owen first, who's expression was unmistakably one of excitement.

Bethany didn't know why Owen was so excited about getting an outfit change. Really, all it was was a Boy Scouts uniform. What was so exciting about that? But from experience, she knew that she shouldn't be surprised. Owen never failed to be excited when something like this was happening, especially if it had to do with magical disguises.

"Ready?" Kiel asked, shifting from foot to foot.

Owen nodded eagerly. "Completely."

"Okay. Stand still." Kiel began to mumble something, and instantly, Owen's clothes transformed into those of a Boy Scouts'. He was wearing green, khaki pants, along with a red tie, and a short-sleeved, tan collared shirt that had several badges across it. All and all, he looked like an absolute replica of a Boy Scout . . . not that Bethany had ever seen a Boy Scout in real life before.

"Whoa! This looks so cool!" Owen exclaimed, running a hand over the badges on his shirt. His face was filled with awe. "There are badges on here and everything. What do they say?"

Bethany stepped closer to read them. "'Bad at math, nerd, and annoying'."

Owen gave Bethany a dirty look. "Hey, it does _not_ say that!" He looked at the others for confirmation. ". . . Does it?"

"No, idiot," Charm said. "You're too gullible."

Owen's smile faded ever so slightly. "I — um . . . yes?"

"Me next," Kiel announced, and before anyone could protest, he mumbled the words to the spell again. His clothes — which once had consisted of a ripped German shirt and black cape — transformed into the same uniform that Owen wore. He looked so different from his usual self, looking exactly like a normal boy instead of a highly-confident magician.

"Aww." The boy magician felt for something behind his back. "My cape is gone!"

"You'll get a new one," Bethany said. "Your old one was all ripped, anyway."

"That's true."

"Can I go next?" Gwen asked, excitedly bouncing on her feet.

He winked at her. "I don't see why not."

"Yay!"

He casted the disguise spell on her next, and Bethany watched in slight fascination as Gwen's EarthGirl clothes melted away, replaced by a Girl Scout uniform. The outfit looked the exact same as Owen and Kiel's, which made Bethany feel relieved. If she had to fight in a skirt, she'd be very disappointed. It was always much easier to fight while wearing pants.

The remaining disguise spells were cast on Bethany, Kara, Orion, and Charm. When it was over, each of them were wearing uniforms, looking straight out of a Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts camp. It surprised Bethany just how well they could pull this off. They fit their roles perfectly. Even Charm, who's robotic eye, leg, and arm would give her away, now looked like a normal fifteen-year-old girl due to the disguise spell.

That was the easy part. The only thing they had to do now was pretend to be regular kids at a summer camp . . . and the only person that'd be easy for was probably Owen, since he was the only one who'd actually _been_ to a summer camp.

Before jumping into _Scouting_ , they read through more websites on the computer, to make sure they had everything they needed to properly fit in with the summer camp. Owen had claimed that they needed bug spray, which Bethany agreed with. They also all needed backpacks of their own, since apparently every kid had to bring their own supplies when going to a sleep-away camp.

Bethany doubted they'd be there for more than a day, but she thought it was a good plan. The more they blended in, the quicker they'd be able to find that cave. Hopefully, their disguises would work. That was another thing that Bethany wasn't too sure about, but they were doing the best they could to prepare. It'd have to work.

After conjuring up some backpacks and the rest of their supplies with his magic, Kiel had collapsed into a chair, falling almost instantly asleep. Bethany had nearly forgotten how much using magic in the nonfictional world exhausted him, and she felt a bit guilty for making him do all of this for them.

While they waited for Kiel to wake up, they packed up their supplies, making sure to stuff their weapons in the very bottom of their backpacks. According to many of the websites, summer camps often required you to bring your swimsuit, so they'd each packed one just in case. Not that Bethany actually planned on swimming.

She really, really hoped that they wouldn't be forced to do all the activities and could go straight to their quest. The most important thing was to find that stone as soon as possible, which apparently would take them to Nobody. Would it actually? Bethany had no idea, but she would feel incredibly annoyed if it didn't. They hardly had enough time as it was!

Bethany was sitting in the chair next to Kiel, across from Owen and Kara. They'd talked for a while, but all of them had quickly gotten bored. For what felt like ages, they'd been sitting there, waiting for Kiel to wake up. Charm had lost patience long ago, deciding to head to the back of the library to do something else. Gwen had gone to look at the books around the library. As for Orion, Bethany had no idea where he'd gone.

"He's still asleep?" Kara asked, propping her chin on her arms.

Bethany glanced at Kiel before looking back at her. "Yeah. He hasn't woken up yet."

Owen rubbed his eyes. "He needs to sleep after using that many spells." He sighed. "Can't we spray whipped cream onto his face or something? That'll wake him up faster."

"No way. We aren't doing that!"

Kara laughed a little. "Where would we even get that? I thought your town was destroyed."

"It is," Owen said. "But who knows, maybe the grocery stores are open. That's what always happens in apocalypse movies. The town gets destroyed, and the survivors can legally go to the grocery store and get food, since no one works there anymore." He shrugged. "It's kind of a thing."

"In case you've forgotten, the military is still in our town," Bethany reminded him. "Don't you think they'd notice if a couple of kids showed up out of nowhere at a grocery store?"

He sunk back into his chair. "Yeah. So what do we do, then?"

"We could just wait for him to wake up," she said. "You know, like a normal person would?"

"I _am_ a normal person."

"You aren't," Bethany and Kara said at the same time. Kara grinned, and she reached out, hitting Bethany's palm with her's.

Owen blushed, but Bethany could tell he was trying not to smile. "Hey!"

"We could travel to the future to the moment where he wakes up," Kara offered.

"Won't that create a time paradox?"

She nudged him with her shoulder. "Paradoxes don't effect me, remember?"

"But they'd probably effect _me_!"

Suddenly, there was a groaning noise, and they all looked over to see Kiel slowly sitting up. He looked tired and disoriented, and his black hair was a mess from laying on the table. "Huh . . . what?"

"Never-mind," Kara said. "No time bracelet needed! Looks like we didn't need to wait much longer, after all."

Kiel blinked, crinkling his eyebrows. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Five hours," she said simply.

His eyes widened. "Five _hours_?"

" _One_ hour!" Owen corrected. "Kara, that'll only confuse him more!"

Kara laughed and patted Owen's hand, which Bethany noticed caused a noticeable blush to form on his cheeks. She shot up from her chair. "Hey, where's everyone else?"

"Somewhere around here."

"I'll get them," Bethany said, sliding out of her chair. As she walked away from the table, she heard voices up ahead, from the back of the library. She sped up her pace, her sneakers squeaking against the carpeted floor. She didn't have to look for long, because she found Gwen sitting in the fantasy section, her eyes alight with wonder as she held a book in her hands.

"What're you reading?" Bethany asked, pointing to the book in her hands.

Gwen jumped slightly, then grinned as she looked over at Bethany. "Oh, the most incredible book! Owen told me that I have to read it. It's called . . ." She flipped the book over to stare at the front cover. " _Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone_."

"That's a great book," Bethany agreed, feeling her heart flutter at the happy look on her friend's face. "I used to jump into that a lot. What part are you at?"

"Hagrid just brought Harry to Diagon Alley. It's in this place called . . . Lon . . . din."

"London." Bethany couldn't help but smile. "I've only been to the fictional part of it, but I'll have to bring you to the real thing someday. I hear they only drink tea there."

"Amazing." Gwen giggled. "I have no idea what that is!"

"It's really good," Bethany said. "You can drink it when you're sick, but a lot of people just drink it in the morning."

Mentally, Bethany made a note that she had to make a list of Earth things for Gwen to try. Having lived on Argon VI her whole life, Gwen deserved to try everything that she'd missed out on. Once this whole thing with Nobody was over, making a list would be the first thing Bethany would do.

Then, she remembered what she'd come here for. "By the way, we're gonna get going since Kiel just woke up. Are you ready?"

Gwen gasped excitedly, and she jumped up, leaving the book on the floor. " _Yes_! I'm so excited to meet more Earthers!"

As they started walking, Bethany smiled fondly at her. "Nobody actually calls them that, you know."

"Nobody does?"

Bethany quickly backtracked as she realized her mistake. "No! I meant _no one_." She blushed slightly. "Not _Nobody_."

"Oh!" Gwen laughed. "Well, I can't think of anything else to call them. I've always called them that."

"Fair enough."

By the time they'd found Charm and brought her back to their other friends, everyone else was already prepared, their backpacks on and their disguises ready. Orion was there, too, which Bethany hadn't expected. He must've come back while they were grabbing Charm.

Owen was holding the book in his hand, flipping through the pages. Bethany came up from behind him and peered over his shoulder. Hopefully he'd found somewhere safe that they could jump into. "See any pages for us to jump into?"

"Gah!" Owen flinched, and he sent her a look. "Don't _do_ that!"

Bethany rolled her eyes. "Do you have a page?"

Wordlessly, he handed the book to her. It was a page from the beginning, where it seemed that the campers were moving into their temporary homes for the summer. Since it'd probably be crowded, that would definitely be the safest spot to jump in without being noticed.

"Does it look okay?" Owen asked, his expression nervous, almost as if he expected her to say no.

She nodded wordlessly, placing the book on the floor before she could change her mind. She tried to ignore her nervous feelings, channeling Kiel's comforting advice from earlier in her head. It didn't do much to calm her nerves, but it helped. A little.

She glanced around at the faces of her friends, and she was struck with the realization that she never used to jump into books with this many people before. It felt almost strange. At first, it was her and her father. For a time much longer than that, it used to only be her. Then, it was her, Owen, and Kiel. Now, it was six people at once.

Definitely a major shift.

Slipping her hands into Gwen's and Owen's, she jumped them into the book. The first thing she noticed was the scenery, which was so beautiful that she had to blink a few times to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating. Bright sunlight came in above, and the pleasant sound of birds chirping filled the air. They were surrounded by nothing but trees and lakes and grass and more trees.

And then there was the heat.

The last time she'd felt this hot was last summer, when her AC had stopped working. After months of winter, she thought she might enjoy the warmth at least a little. But Bethany couldn't deny that it felt _way_ too hot. It was the type of weather that felt downright awful if you weren't eating ice cream or jumping into a pool. Great. Now she might have to go swimming, after all.

She felt beads of sweat gathering at the back of her neck, and even was starting to form on her face, arms, and legs. Her hair was already beginning to frizz all over, so she pulled it up into a ponytail, hoping that would relieve pressure of the heat somehow. It didn't.

She held back a groan, exchanging an exasperated look with Owen, who's expression mirrored her's. There was no denying that it was far too hot outside. She hoped that the campsite wouldn't be too far away, but given how they were in the middle of a forest without an indication of where to go, she figured it would take some time.

"It's so hot," Charm complained, waving a hand in her face. "This is _torturous_."

"It feels nice!" Gwen said, her smile bright as ever. "Wow!" She ran her hand along a tree. "Look at all these trees, and the _grass_. It's beautiful!"

"It's almost like you've never seen a forest before," Orion said, but his remark wasn't particularly unkind in any way. Bethany couldn't help but smirk at the scowl on his face. He didn't seem too happy to be in the heat, either.

"I haven't!"

They started walking, none of them having a clue if they were going in the right direction. Bethany was at least thankful that they hadn't landed anywhere with people nearby. It was still an important rule of her's, to keep a low profile whenever she jumped into books. If anyone happened to see her appear out of nowhere, things never turned out good.

The sound of voices and laughter somewhere up ahead gave her an indication that _yes_ , they were going the right way. They all sped up at the noise, pushing through a bend in the trees until they came to the source. Standing before them was a crowd of kids, who varied from all ages. Some of them were chatting excitedly with their parents and friends, while others were standing in line for what looked like a registration booth.

"Whoa," Kara breathed, shielding her eyes against the bright sunlight. Her short hair had fastened itself to the back of her neck, a side effect from the heat. "I wasn't expecting that. There are so many people here!"

"Wow, nice observation," Charm said in a sarcastic tone. "You want an award? How about a nice, polished trophy?"

"What?"

"The sleepaway camp I went to was fun!" Owen blurted out, clearly trying to relieve the tension between the two girls. Bethany glanced at Kiel, giving him every ounce of _Are you seeing this?_ into the look. He shrugged in response.

"We aren't here to have fun," Bethany said as they made their way towards the entrance of the camp. She felt a small ounce of guilt for saying it, but she knew that _someone_ had to remind them what they'd come for. "We're here to find that stone as soon as we can. No delays."

"Of course, yeah!"

"We're here to have _some_ fun," Kiel corrected, and Bethany shot him a dirty look.

"How long will this take?" Orion asked, pushing some people aside as they went.

"I have no idea," Owen said, raising his voice to be heard over the noise of the crowd. "Maybe a day, depending on—"

"Hey!" a woman shouted as they slipped past the registration booth, and they flinched. It took Bethany a moment to realize that the woman was talking to them, not someone else. "What are you doing over there?"

Bethany could feel her heart jump out of her chest, and she swallowed roughly. "We're here for the summer camp."

"You have to sign in over here."

"Sorry!" Kara said quickly. She made a face, then led the way as they turned back around and got to the registration booth. Despite how many people there were, the lines were moving quickly, so they didn't have to wait very long. As the seven of them clambered up to the registration booth, they all stared at the woman, who was writing something down on a sheet.

"Can you state your names?" the woman asked.

The people here wanted to know their _names_? Bethany's eyes widened. There was no way that that was happening. Although she'd broken her own rule a few times, she tried not to tell any fictional strangers her real name. It was safer that way. And even if they did tell them their names, they'd probably be kicked out because none of them had actually signed up for this camp!

"What do we tell her?" Owen whispered in Bethany's ear, but Kara was already talking.

"Wow, this is embarrassing," Kara was saying. "Our parents actually signed us up for this camp _today_ , so I don't think you guys would have our names on your list. But trust me." She pointed at Owen. "His older brother used to go here. You probably recognize the resemblance."

The woman stared from her to Owen. "I meet a lot of kids here. I don't recognize many people." She sighed loudly. "But you're right. Some parents decide to sign their kids up _way_ to late for these things, and it takes a while to print all of the names out."

"Right," Kara said. "Well, you can write our names down now, if you want."

Bethany was impressed. She hadn't expected Kara to be so good not only at lying, but also at making up a completely fake, believable story. She wasn't surprised that Owen had spoken so highly of her. The more she'd gotten to know Kara, the more she wanted to be friends with her. She really _was_ everything he'd claimed she'd been.

There was a slightly suspicious look on the woman's face that made Bethany freeze, but slowly, she nodded. "Alright. State your name, date of birth, and age."

"Funny thing," Kiel said, winking at her. "I don't actually _have_ a date of birth—" Charm nudged him hard in the side, and he stopped talking.

"Never-mind." The woman sighed. "Just tell me your name and age, so I can fit you into the right area."

Right area? Bethany wondered what she'd meant by that. Didn't everyone share the same area of camp, or were the cabins supposed to be separated depending on age? She already assumed that they'd be separated by gender, so she ruled that option out. Maybe the camp was too big, so the camp counselors wanted to keep things organized.

"I'm Kelly . . ." Kara trailed off for a few seconds. "Brooks."

"Kelly Brooks . . ." The woman wrote something down on her sheet of paper before looking back up. "Age?"

"Fifteen. Oh, we're all fifteen. You can put that down."

"I'm Kiel," Owen blurted out, and everyone turned to stare at him, including Kiel, who looked slightly uncomfortable.

"His name is _not_ Kiel," Bethany cut in, glaring at him. "It's —"

"Fine," he said, giving her a look. "It's Luke Skywalker."

It took every ounce of willpower not to strangle him right then and there.

Luckily, the woman didn't seem to notice that Owen had said the name of a famous fictional TV character from Star Wars. Either that, or maybe fictional people just didn't know what Star Wars _was_. It was lucky for Owen that the woman hadn't known the identity of his fake name, or else they'd be in big trouble.

"From Star Wars?" Kara asked quietly, turning back to Owen with a smile.

"Yeah!" He smiled back.

"How do you know about Star Wars?" Bethany asked her, keeping her voice barely above a whisper.

She shrugged a little. "Owen told me about it. I've yet to see the movie."

The woman cleared their throat. "Could the rest of you please state your names? We don't have all day!"

"Of course," Kiel said. "My name is Kie— Kyle _Bauer_." He then winked at Bethany. Ugh. He was using the German name again? At least he wasn't talking in a German accent, which surely would've made the woman even more suspicious than she already seemed to be.

Gwen went next. "My name is Gwe—" She froze. "Gwenda. Yeah, that's my name! It's Gwenda!"

"Nice save," Orion whispered sarcastically.

"Thanks!"

"Last name?" the woman asked.

"Oh." Gwen looked back at Bethany, who motioned with her hands, hoping that Gwen could come up with something quickly. But then, she turned back to the woman with a smile. "It's Earth."

"Gwenda . . . Earth?" the woman repeated, sliding her gaze across their group.

"Yes," Charm said, stepping forwards. "It's not an unusual name. Can you write mine next? It's Jaiden Laufer." Bethany didn't have time to think of how smoothly Charm had come up with a believable name before the woman spoke to her next.

"And you?" the woman pointed at Bethany.

She froze. She went through a list of names in her head, trying to decide on one quickly enough. But the one that came out of her mouth was automatic, said without a second thought. "Catherine."

The woman looked at Orion, her pen hovered above her sheet of paper. "Your name?"

"Christian," Orion said quietly.

"Last name?"

"Sanderson," they said together. Orion held Bethany's gaze for a moment, and she smiled just a bit as understanding passed between them. Then, they each looked away, and the moment ended.

Bethany certainly hadn't expected to say her mother's name, nor had she expected Orion to say her father's. It was a painful reminder that her mother was back in that hotel, probably going crazy as she wondered where Bethany was, and her father was captured by Nobody.

"Okay." The woman sat back in her chair. "The boys' camp is to the left, girls' is to the right. You won't miss it. There are signs to guide you."

"There are two separate camps?" Owen asked, a frown on his face.

"Like I said, one is for Boy Scouts and one for Girl Scouts. Since your brother went here, he should've told you this."

"Right," Owen said, blushing. "He did! Sorry!"

As soon as they walked away from the booth, Bethany turned to her friends in a hurry. "I can't believe they want us to split up! We can't do that."

"Yeah," Owen agreed. "We're on a quest!"

"She said that we have to," Kiel said. He didn't look much happier than her at the news. "I don't think we really have a choice."

"But what if we can't find each other again?" Owen asked, and Bethany took a second to look at the scene in front of them. There were two wide paths, one leading to the Boy Scouts camp and the other leading to the Girl Scouts. There was an uneasy feeling inside of her, at the knowledge that she'd need to separate from Owen, Kiel, and Orion. But what choice _did_ they have?

"We just have to trust that we will," Kara said, looking directly at Owen as she said it.

"We can go on those missions that Fowen told us about," Kiel said. "Once we figure out when they're leaving, we can go on one." He pointed to Bethany, Charm, Kara, and Gwen. "You guys can go on the mission that your camp has, too. That way we can meet each other at that cave." He winked. "Problem solved."

"That's actually a good plan," Charm said, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "I might almost call that . . . clever."

He grinned. "My plans are _always_ good."

"No, they never are."

"And if we can't find each other?" Bethany asked. She was filled with nervous anticipation, and it'd only grown at the fact that she'd be separated from three of her closest friends. "This place is huge. I have no idea how we'll be able to coordinate leaving at the exact same time if we don't know exactly when your group is leaving."

"I could use my time bracelet," Kara said. "I can jump backwards in time and manipulate it so I'm moving a few seconds faster than everyone else. Maybe there are schedules for these missions that I can find."

"I like that idea!" Gwen said.

They reluctantly parted ways, the boys headed to the Boy Scouts camp as her, Kara, Gwen, and Charm headed to the Girl Scouts camp. There seemed to be a shift in the air at the loss of their friends. They watched them leave, walking further and further down the path. Soon, they were lost in the sea of kids, looking just like every other boy who was attending the summer camp.

Bethany sighed. She missed them already.

"You okay?" A hand laid on her shoulder, and Bethany tensed up. Then, she looked over to see Gwen staring at her with concern. She relaxed a bit, letting out a breath.

"Fine," Bethany said, glancing at Kara and Charm. "I just hope they'll be okay."

"They will. And so will we!" Gwen smiled, looping Bethany's arm through her's. "Let's make the most out of this. It'll be fun!"

* * *

After an afternoon of arts and crafts, kickball, and campfire songs, Bethany was relieved when she could finally get back to her assigned cabin. At first, it'd seemed almost enjoyable to relax for a moment and pretend that nothing bad was happening in her life. But that relaxation had quickly faded when they didn't even get to leave the campsite.

Much to her annoyance, none of the activities today had consisted of these "missions" that Fowen had talked about. Not a single one. There'd been a few Girl Scout chants they'd had to say when they were crowded around the campfire, but that was all they'd done for today. She even half-expected they'd started selling Girl Scout cookies to nearby homes, but that never happened, either.

Looked like they'd have to wait until tomorrow to find the cave.

As the final light was turned out, Bethany climbed up to the top bunk, right above Gwen, who was sleeping on the bottom bunk. While she, Gwen, and Kara had had a relatively enjoyable time doing some of the activities, Charm had clearly hated every minute of it.

With the way she'd been acting all afternoon, Bethany was surprised that the half-robotic girl _hadn't_ taken out her ray guns. She felt slightly bad that Charm had to be dragged into this, but it wasn't like they had a choice. Out of all of them, the only one who was having the most fun was Gwen. But that wasn't anything new.

Being inside offered little relief from the outside heat, unlike what Bethany had hoped. In fact, it was almost worse. The air was thick, stale, and still, and there wasn't even a breeze. There were only two windows on either side of the wooden cabin, one above the door and one on the opposite wall. But neither did anything to cool the cabin down, unfortunately.

As Bethany tossed onto her side, preparing to fall asleep, she heard a hushed voice from across the cabin. "Why do you hate me so much?"

It was Kara, Bethany realized with a start. Her eyes widened, and she curled her fingers around the blanket, keeping her body entirely still. Kara was still awake? But who was she talking to?

Her questions were confirmed a moment later as another voice replied, undoubtedly Charm's. "How could I hate you? I don't even know you, much less even _care_ about you."

"Yeah, but you obviously don't want me here," Kara whispered.

"Correct."

"What, are you threatened by me, or something? Is that it?"

Charm snorted out loud. "Please. You're about as threatening as a puppy."

"So what did I ever do to you that makes you feel that way about me? Because as far as I'm seeing it, you're acting like I'm your enemy."

There was a beat of silence, and then, "I don't hate _you_. Just _this_. The whole situation. It's aggravating."

"I get it," Kara said, so quietly that Bethany had to strain her ears to hear. "It's a lot to take in, I know. I mean, isn't it crazy? That we're on this quest to defeat Nobody? It's hard on everyone. It can be stressful to have all this responsibility on your shoulders, when you don't even know if what you're doing is the right thing."

"Yeah . . ." Charm said, the surprise unmistakable in her voice. "You're right. It can be. How did you know that?"

"It's a really long story that involves time travel. Back in my world, I'm kind of seen as a criminal, since I've always been destined to destroy the world. I've spent years trying to stop that from happening, but . . ."

"You couldn't," Charm said, finishing the words for her. She sighed, and just like that, Bethany felt a shift in the air. "I guess I owe you an apology, Kara. I can be . . . too harsh sometimes."

Kara laughed softly. "You think?"

Bethany didn't have to see to know that Charm was rolling her eyes. "Yeah, whatever," she said. "Don't remind me. And this doesn't mean that we're friends, alright?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Good."

* * *

 _Twigs_ _cracked beneath Owen's feet as he ran, faster and faster through the jungle. He could hardly breathe. All he knew was that he had to run, to get away before any dinosaurs caught him. The sound of roars in the distance caused him to panic even more, and he sped up, his mind a blur as he pushed past vines and trees. His heart was racing out of control._

 _The jungle seemed to go on forever, and no amount of running would ever help Owen escape._ _Each time he looked behind him, the dinosaurs loomed behind him, only seeming to get closer with every second. He didn't know how much longer he could keep going, but he knew that he had to. He had to keep running no matter what, or else he'd never escape._

" _Owen . . ."_

 _All of the sudden, a rock appeared out of nowhere in his path. Owen had no time to dodge. He stumbled to the ground, his knees roughly hitting the floor of the jungle. Tears pricked his eyes as he realized what he'd done. He'd stopped running! His eyes widened, and he tried to push himself to his feet, but it was too late._

" _Owen."_

 _Someone grabbed him from behind, dragging him back the way he'd came. He yelled in surprise, kicking with all his might so the person would let him go. But their grip was like iron, and no amount of fighting would help. He fought with every ounce of strength that he had, but he felt so exhausted, and the tears had already started to wash down his face._

 _"_ _Owen!"_

Owen gasped automatically, and it took him a moment to realize where he was. Once he did, he calmed down instantly. He was back in the cabin of the summer camp, where the air conditioning was practically nonexistent. Oh, good. It'd only been a dream.

"Owen," Kara whispered in the darkness, and Owen realized that her hands were on his shoulders. "Are you okay?"

He stared up at her, feeling instantly calmer at the sight of her despite having no idea why she was in his cabin. "Kara? What're you doing here?"

"Wake up. There's something I need to tell you."

Owen blinked slowly, feeling exhausted. "Right _now_? But it's the middle of the night!"

" _Yes_ , right now."

"Wait . . ." His eyes widened, and he shot up in bed. "This is the _boys_ camp! How did you get in here?!"

She lifted the hand that her time bracelet was on, waving it at him. "I can teleport with it."

He nodded, sighing in relief. "Oh, right."

He sat up the rest of the way, sitting cross-legged as Kara took a seat beside him. For some reason, she looked worried. Something was clearly wrong. She didn't say anything for a moment, so he cleared his throat, hoping to help her with whatever problem she was dealing with.

"Is everything okay?" Owen whispered, scooting closer to her. In the darkness, he could tell that her eyes were closed, almost as if she was contemplating something.

Kara looked over at him, her brow creased with worry. "I — yes, everything's fine. I just . . . I didn't know any other time to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"It's . . . it's about the future, the one where the world gets destroyed."

Owen tilted his head, feeling a mixture of confused and surprised. Kara had woken him up in the middle of the night to talk about the future? That was surprising. He never knew much about it, other than the fact that Kara was destined to destroy the world. But he'd grown to understand that it was a touchy subject for her. She obviously blamed herself for it, and had done everything she could to prevent it from happening.

He frowned. "You came to tell me about your future?"

Kara nodded. "Yeah." She scratched her head. "But I get that it's really late, and you probably won't want to hear it—"

"No, don't worry. You can tell me!" Owen assured her, feeling internally glad that she was opening up to him about this. She'd never openly explained anything about her future, other than the part about the world getting destroyed.

"Okay . . ."

Seeing that she was reluctant to say more, Owen looked down, fidgeting with his cast. "What did you see when . . . you know, the world is destroyed?"

"Nothing," she said. "Absolutely nothing. As far as I can tell, there was this whiteness everywhere, and the rest of the world was gone. And then there's another thing. Something that I found out just yesterday, actually. The world getting destroyed used to be pushed so far into the future, but now . . . it's almost like the future has gotten _worse_." She stared at him, her expression fearful.

"Worse? That doesn't sound good." Owen gulped, not wanting at all to know the answer to the question he would ask next. "When does it happen?"

"In three days," Kara whispered, looking ill.

His eyes widened. " _What_? Are you serious? Why . . . why didn't you tell everyone else?"

"You're the only person I can talk to about this," she said. "You're my best friend, and I didn't know _how_ to tell anyone else." She let out a sigh, blinking several times. "This always seems to happen. The world is going to end even sooner than it was supposed to, and the time agents said that I _wasn't_ the cause of it, but that's hard to believe."

Bitterness seeped into her voice, and her voice got softer. "They said someone else was. Not me. I don't know _how_ to stop thinking that it isn't my fault, but I can't help but feel like it is—"

"This isn't your fault. I _know_ it isn't. The time agents told you it wasn't!" Owen said. He stared at her, willing for her to meet his eyes. She didn't. Instead, her eyes were glued to the floor, and Owen realized that she was trying not to cry. Instinctively, he moved a bit closer to her and patted her shoulder.

"Hey, it's not your fault," he said in the softest voice he could muster. "It's Nobody's. It's gotta be. But — but that's just the future it's showing right now, since Nobody is still out there. We're going to defeat him, and the future will change!"

She shook her head. When she spoke, her voice wavered slightly. "The future doesn't change. It hasn't for all the years that I've been time-traveling. It's destiny. I don't _want_ my destiny to be determined like this, but it is. I've tried so many times to stop it, and the same thing happens in the end. The same thing _always_ happens."

"We can still change it somehow!"

"No we _can't_." She bit her lip, tears flooding her eyes. Her shoulders shook slightly, and a few tears escaped, streaming down her cheeks. "I have no idea how to do that! When it's something as big as the world ending, it takes tiny changes in time to even change the future!" She wiped her cheeks. "But with my future, it doesn't change. It _never_ does."

"Maybe not," Owen said gently. "But I'm pretty positive that it was Nobody. Don't blame this on yourself, Kara. You're — you're—" He tried to think of something to say, anything that would convince her she wasn't at fault here. "The time agents told you that it was someone else's fault, not yours. So that means it's Nobody's. We just have to defeat him, and that'll change things. You'll see."

Kara looked up at him, an almost hopeful look in her tear-filled eyes. "Maybe you're right," she said, not sounding very sure about it.

"You're the one who's terrified of ending the universe, Kara," Owen pointed out. "But it's not your fault. I think the least I can do is help you realize that. You helped me when I was stuck in prison. I never would've gotten out if it weren't for you, so I owe you big time. Either way, I'm going to help, and so will the rest of my friends."

He smiled, glancing away from her. "We just didn't think the future would actually _show_ the universe ending. We just need to get to Nobody as fast as we can, and then we can hopefully save the world."

"Yeah," Kara muttered. "And what if it doesn't actually work?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. That would mean that all of the fictional worlds — all the people — are gone. Honestly, I can't imagine what'll happen if it doesn't."

"Me neither. I really hope that we can stop Nobody. And I hope that we can . . . you know, stop this future from happening."

"Of course we will," Owen said, forcing confidence into his voice. "We've got our friends _and_ a plan. I'm . . . really nervous about this too, but I think . . . I think it might work."

She sighed. "I was . . . I was wrong about the Time Security Agency. It took being locked up to see that, but I know that I don't belong there." She shook her head firmly. "Locking myself up wasn't going to change anything about the future."

"I'm glad you realized that," he told her. "I was worried you might turn yourself in again after we're done defeating Nobody!" He chuckled, trying to get her to laugh. But she didn't.

"I just thought it'd been the right thing to do," Kara said. "The whole thing seems kind of pointless to me, now. Almost like I've wasted a few years of my life either running from my problems or sitting around in a prison cell."

"You didn't waste _anything_ ," Owen said. "Look around! You have your time bracelet back, and we would never have met if it weren't for you being in that time prison."

"But we did meet before you came to the time prison." She glanced over at him with a small smile. "You just don't remember it."

"Um, that doesn't count. Only for _you_ it does."

A moment passed where neither of them spoke, simply enjoying each other's company. "Sorry about the crying," Kara said, breaking the silence as she wiped her face some more. "I've just . . . I haven't been able to tell anyone about that, so—"

"It's okay," he told her with a smile, completely genuine. "I think you look really pretty when you cry." Owen's heart flipped in his chest. He froze as he realized what he'd just said. Did he really just say that? That she looked pretty when she was _crying_? Uh-oh. Now, she'd probably think he was crazy or something!

Kara stared at him, her eyes widening in surprise. A blush formed on both of their faces, and Owen quickly backtracked. "U-Um, I mean — you look pretty . . . nice. Y-Yeah, um, that." He was fairly sure that he'd made the situation even worse. He felt the air rush out of his lungs. His entire face felt like it was on fire. If he had the ability to, he'd surely burst into flames at any moment.

The only other girl he'd called pretty was Charm, who had been furious at the compliment. At that time, he'd wanted to run away. Now, he was frozen with fear and embarrassment. Why had he _said_ that? He half-expected her to insult him, since that was what Charm had done when he'd called her 'pretty'. But he was pleasantly surprised at her reaction, which looked far from angry.

Apparently not feeling as embarrassed as he did, Kara only smiled. Her hand moved to his, giving it a gentle squeeze. Butterflies erupted in his stomach from the contact. "How did you break your arm?"

"Oh." His face reddened even more, and he wasn't sure whether it was from holding her hand or the mention of his broken arm. "Um, it happened shortly after the time agents took you away. I was — I was running from a dinosaur, and . . ."

He took a deep breath, trying to gather the courage to go through the entire story. It wouldn't take long to explain, but he never liked talking about the bad memories he'd had while in _Pick The Plot_.

The memory of breaking his arm, along with being hunted down by dinosaurs, still haunted him to this day. He didn't think about it too often, mostly because it brought him unpleasant emotions. He remembered it all too well. The adrenaline, the _fear_ that he felt as he ran for his life. The surprise that he'd felt when he went sailing off the edge of a cliff, only to break his arm a split-second later.

As if sensing his discomfort, Kara only nodded. "I understand. You don't have to explain it."

"Thanks," Owen said, smiling gratefully at her. He found himself squeezing her hand a bit tighter. "I don't . . . completely like talking about what happened."

"Yeah, I get what you mean," Kara said. "Once, when I talked to one of my older selves, she'd broken five bones in her body. She wouldn't tell me how it happened. I'm immune to paradoxes. I don't know why she _wouldn't_ tell me. I'm her!" She shivered, grinning a bit. "Either way, I don't think I would've _wanted_ to know how she broke that many bones."

Owen chuckled. "Maybe your future self had some really embarrassing story behind it, and that's why she didn't want to tell you. A lot of times, people have really cool stories about how they broke their bones. But she — um, _you_ — could've accidentally fallen down the stairs, or something!"

She laughed loudly, then clamped a hand over her mouth as one of the boys stirred in his sleep. Before they could be spotted, Owen yanked Kara to the ground.

"David, is that you?" the boy whispered from the top bunk across the room, his speech slurred.

"Uh, yeah! Go back to bed," Kara whispered, her voice suddenly much deeper than usual. Owen nearly burst out laughing. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand before that happened, which would surely give them away.

"Okay," the boy replied, and they watched with stifled laughter as he fell asleep almost instantly.

Owen let out a breath, and he suddenly wanted to laugh all over again. "That was close!"

"I know!" Kara whispered back, grinning at him. She fell silent, and for a moment, all Owen could hear was the chirping of the crickets outside. She glanced towards the door before quickly standing up again. "I should get back before anyone notices I'm gone."

"Oh." Owen nodded, trying to hide his disappointment. "Right! Of course. We both need sleep, especially to get ready for tomorrow."

"Are you ready?" Kara asked. "For tomorrow, I mean."

He didn't know how to answer. He kept telling himself that going to this cave was a good idea, but he had no idea if it was. If it was anything like the Cave Of Wonders in _Aladdin_ , it might be dangerous. Especially since it had been _Fowen_ who told them about it. But this was the only way to find Nobody. It would work out. He was traveling with six of his friends, and they each were capable of defending themselves if anything bad happened.

"I guess I'll have to be," he said finally, his voice coming out quieter than he'd intended. "What about you?"

She gave him a smile. "Not really sure what to expect, but I guess I am."

Owen nodded, swallowing hard. Before she could leave, he said, "Hey, Kara?"

"Yeah?"

"I-I, um . . ." He exhaled, feeling a bit nervous at his next words. "I really missed you."

It'd been something he'd been wanting to say all day, among other things, but it was slightly embarrassing to say it to her face. Still, it was true. For weeks, he'd wished he could see her again, to rescue her from the time agents and keep her safe. She meant so much to him, just as much as Bethany and Kiel, who were his closest friends out of everyone in the whole world. And he knew her well enough by now that she wouldn't judge him for saying it.

A grin spread across her face. "I missed you, too."

Without warning, Kara threw her arms around his neck. His heartbeat quickened in his chest. Heat crept onto his cheeks, and he felt slightly awkward as he hugged her back. He couldn't help but smile. He still couldn't believe that it'd just been this morning that he'd finally reunited with her. He wanted to spend as much time with her as he could, before anything got worse.

He wondered why anybody, ever, could've been afraid of Kara Dox. It just didn't make any sense! Over the time that he'd known her, she'd defended him until they end, quickly becoming someone that he grew close to. Yes, there was the whole thing with her destroying the world, but Owen knew that she was far from villainous.

When she pulled away, Owen felt his heart hammering within his chest, steady like the beat of a drum. And in spite of the looming danger that tomorrow would certainly bring if things went badly, he felt more content than he had in weeks.

Kara yawned. "Sweet dreams, Owen."

He smiled warmly. "Night, Kara."

* * *

 _"_ _Don't cry. Don't raise your eye. It's only teenage wasteland . . ."_


	34. The Cave

_**Let It Happen (By Tame Impala)**_

 _"_ _All this running around. Trying to cover my shadow. An ocean growing inside. All the others seem shallow . . ."_

* * *

Leaves and sticks crunched under the boys' feet as they followed their camp counselor into the forest, having just been told that they'd be hiking all day. The idea excited and relieved Kiel, who wanted some actual danger. All they'd done yesterday was hours upon hours of sports (which Kiel enjoyed), but they hadn't had the chance to go on the missions that Fowen had told them about.

Finally, they were leaving the campsite, which meant that him, Owen, and Orion could sneak off to find that cave. That was what he'd hoped they'd been able to do yesterday, but unfortunately, the opportunity had never come. By a stroke of luck, the opportunity _had_ come this morning. He hoped that the girls camp was doing the same thing, or else they'd have to wait a lot longer for Bethany, Gwen, Kara, and Charm to show up.

While he was excited to finally get going with this, he couldn't simply push his worries away like he usually could. It bothered him that he wasn't sure _exactly_ what to expect when they got to this cave. None of them were, not even Fowen. Kiel didn't care if he got into danger, because he normally enjoyed it. But if his friends got hurt? That was what he was more concerned about.

Not that he expressed any of this to Owen. Kiel didn't have to be his best friend to know that that boy was nervous, and he didn't want Owen to feel worse. From past experience, Kiel knew that hiding his fear from his friends had nearly killed him. But that wouldn't happen here. So Kiel kept his confident facade up, telling himself and Owen that everything would work out perfectly.

And it would! It was just a cave, and Kiel had been in plenty of caves before. What was the big deal? It'd be easy. Easier than many of the quests he'd been on, which was saying something. He doubted they'd even have much of a problem finding it. He was Kiel Gnomenfoot, after all! What _couldn't_ he do?

All they needed to do was get that magical stone, and then they could use it to find Nobody. Kiel was a bit annoyed that his location spell hadn't worked to find the faceless man, but at least this stone was magical, too. That meant it was trustworthy, because magic _never_ failed. He'd prove everyone wrong about that.

Kiel glanced at Orion, who was staring straight ahead, wearing a look of disapproval as he trudged next to Kiel and Owen. If the sidekick had any indication that he was nervous, he didn't show it. Or maybe he was pushing his nerves away, just like Kiel did. Kiel couldn't tell, especially with Orion, who wore the same expression majority of the time.

His backpack jostled against him as they went further into the woods, separating themselves further from the camp. Kiel glanced at Owen several times, trying to see what would be the right time to disperse from the group, but Owen only shook his head. They weren't far enough into the woods yet, Kiel guessed.

As much as Kiel wanted to get going, the others would probably notice right away if they left. And that couldn't just wasn't sure if he could spend more than thirty minutes doing this, when they really needed to get to that cave.

How hard could it be to slip away, anyway? It'd be easy. They were in a group of about twenty boys, and many of them were too distracted with the sights ahead of them to really listen to what the camp counselor was saying. There was a chance that they _wouldn't_ notice if Kiel and his friends left, but there was also the camp counselor to deal with, who was watching the boys like a hawk.

It would definitely be easier to slip away if he could just cast a spell, since that _always_ worked. Every time, actually. He'd flash them a wink and a grin, cast some spell that would knock their socks off, and then he and his friends could make a run for it. It would definitely work. But he knew he couldn't do that, for a number of reasons.

Once again, he had to pretend to be a regular boy who had no magical abilities. He'd already been doing that for the two and a half months that he was a German exchange student! It didn't seem fair that he had to pretend he was someone else again, even if it _was_ fun for a little bit.

The other reason (which made more sense to Kiel) was that his wand-knives were buried at the bottom of his backpack. This was to prevent anyone from finding them, which he had to admit was a good idea. But he'd have to dig through it for a while if he wanted to retrieve them, so there was no way he could cast a spell that quickly. He'd have to take them out once they got to the cave.

It was hardly an hour after the sun had risen yet Kiel was hardly tired. His body tingled with excitement, which only grew as they ventured further into the forest. The pleasant, carefree atmosphere added to the feeling. It made him believe more and more that the cave they were going to wouldn't even be dangerous. If they were in a world like _this_ , that meant finding that stone would be a piece of pie! Or cake . . . whatever that nonfictional saying was.

Birds sang a melody from the trees above their heads, and the sound of consistent buzzing filled Kiel's ears. It was undeniably loud last night when he'd gone to sleep, but the noise was even louder now that they were in the forest. According to Owen, the buzzing was coming from these bugs called "crickets".

The noise had startled Kiel at first, who had never heard bugs making that type of noise before. Why did they make that noise, and where _were_ they? It had to be magic. Had to be. Kiel had tried looking for some yesterday, but it was to no avail. For bugs that made such loud noises, they were apparently equally good at hiding.

"We need a plan for getting out of here," Owen whispered from next to Kiel, tugging the straps of his backpack higher up his shoulders.

Kiel flinged a tree branch out of his face. "Can't we just outrun them?"

Orion gave Kiel an annoyed look. "Are you seriously kidding me? It's better to be _stealthy_ , not reckless. I see that you and Bethany have plenty in common."

"Thanks!"

"That . . . wasn't a compliment. You're lucky I'm here to help you, because we need to be stealthy. We can't let these guys know that we've left."

"Unless they _do_ know that we've left," Owen said in a thoughtful tone, and both boys turned to look at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Kiel asked.

He took a deep breath. "I . . . I think I have a plan."

"Great!" Kiel broke out into a grin and patted Owen on the shoulder. It wasn't common to see Owen look so confident about a plan of his, so surely this meant that his plan would work! Kiel trusted Owen entirely, and since Owen was always the one dragging _Kiel_ out of trouble, this plan would probably be less dangerous than anything Kiel could come up with.

If it were up to him, he would've cast some magic spells on the group and run off. That always seemed to work in the past, and a little danger wasn't going to hurt anyone. It would be a quick and exhilarating way to get going, and they'd find the cave and their friends much faster that way! But he doubted that Owen had the same idea in mind.

"Owen, whatever you're about to do, don't—" Orion began, but Owen had already started talking.

"Excuse me, Mr. camp counselor?" Owen hesitantly spoke up, causing everyone's heads to turn to them. "I think I left something back at the camp."

Their camp counselor (who Kiel had also forgotten the name of) was a stout man that always seemed to have a smile on his face, even as he was going through all of the safety precautions. Despite the others finding him kind of annoying, Kiel had taken an instant liking to his good-natured attitude. Apparently everyone here had lots of camp spirit, as Owen had explained to him, because there wasn't a single person that Kiel had seen who didn't look enthusiastic to be here.

"Sorry, I _would_ let you run back and grab it, but we're already a mile away from the camp, kid!" the camp counselor said in his cheerful voice, placing his hands on his hips. His eyebrows furrowed in concern. "What did you forget?"

"My, uh . . . hat?"

Some of the boys laughed, and Kiel added, "He needs it when it's sunny out. You wouldn't deprive him of getting his hat, would you?" He winked, which made the other boys laugh more.

This usually happened back when he attended Bethany's school, when many of the students (mostly just girls) would laugh at anything Kiel said. He was certain that it was because he was naturally funny, but here, it was slightly . . . unsettling. Everyone, the camp counselors included, seemed to laugh at everything. Not that Kiel minded, because he thought most things were funny himself, and he wasn't one to back down from a good joke. But it was a bit strange, he had to admit.

"Sorry, can't do that! No one goes anywhere alone without the group!" The camp counselor beamed at them then, and gestured at the forest around them. "Besides, there's plenty of shade! What would you need a hat for?"

"He gets easily sunburnt."

Owen glared at him, though he didn't look very annoyed. "Hey! I do not!"

"Like I said, we're a mile away from the camp," the camp counselor said. "It would take too long to walk back, and we have a full day of hiking ahead of us!"

"Yeah, I kno—"

"And you wouldn't want to let your fellow Boy Scouts down, would you? Just because you forgot your hat?"

Owen blushed. "I, well—"

"Exactly!" The camp counselor grinned and stepped forward to ruffle Owen's hair. "I'm sure you can persevere without your hat! You're a Boy Scout. You don't _need_ a hat to do this hike."

"Actually, I—"

"You don't! Forgetting your supplies can be all part of the fun! And if you get sunburnt, we'll have everything you need when we return back to the camp. You'll be fine!" Smiling broadly, he went back to the front of the group. "Let's keep moving, kids!"

Orion sighed quietly. "I hate this place."

"But wait, we really need to get back to the camp!" Owen shouted. "Can't you guys go ahead, and we'll catch up with you later?"

"Nope!" The camp counselor laughed. "No one gets left behind! The forest can be especially dangerous when we're this far out!"

Owen groaned. As soon as they started walking again, the camp counselor started singing about nature and Boy Scouts, which, in all honesty, sounded like a catchy song if it weren't being sung by a thirty-year-old man. The other boys joined in, seemingly knowing every single word to the song.

With wide eyes, Kiel exchanged a look with Owen, who looked just as confused as he felt. It was an understatement to say that he hadn't expected that at all. Clearly, none of them had. Why on Magisteria were they singing? Was this something that Boy Scouts commonly did, even ones that weren't in the fictional world?

"I take what I said back," Orion said. "I _really_ hate this place."

"We'll be out of here soon," Kiel told him. "But in the meantime, isn't it kind of nice? Almost makes me forget that the fictional worlds are dying. I don't think I've ever been somewhere so positive."

"It _was_ nice, until that guy said all of that!" Owen said, raising his voice to be heard above the singing. "Why did he have to say that? He acts cheerful but then he doesn't let us do what we want, when a cheerful person normally _would_ let us do something like that! _All_ I asked was if we could run back to the camp. It was a completely normal question! If he's so friendly, why can't he let us go back to the camp?"

"Maybe he doesn't want you to get lost?" Kiel suggested, noticing from his ranting and expressions that his friend's mood had drastically changed from nervous to annoyed.

"But there's a path. It's impossible to get lost! We could've gone down it, and then when we were far enough away from the group, we could've left to find the cave! He should've let us go."

Kiel sighed. "Yeah, he should've. But it's going to be okay. We'll figure something else out. I can guarantee it!" He winked, which seemed to make Owen relax a little.

Kiel didn't understand why the camp counselor hadn't let them go, since they'd had a perfectly believable reason for it. It seemed that unfortunately, they wouldn't be getting out of here anytime soon, at least not if they asked the camp counselor for permission again. But he wouldn't except that. He just had to bend the rules to get them where they needed to be.

A plan started to form in his head. It wasn't anything elaborate or well-thought-out, but there was a definite chance it would work. If they asked the camp counselor to let them go, which was Owen's idea, that would never work a second time. But it would if they _broke_ the rules; that would always be Kiel's best method for solving his problems, and he would stick by it as long as his favorite color was black. Which it was.

Orion narrowed his eyes at Owen. "Okay, _that_ was your plan? To ask the camp counselor if we could go back to the camp?"

Owen frowned, a blush on his cheeks. "Sorry . . . I really thought it would."

"Well, it didn't."

"It almost did," Kiel said.

"Yeah. _Almost_."

"You guys have any other ideas, then?" Owen asked, glancing at the camp counselor again. "We still need time to get out of here and find Bethany, Kara, Charm, and Gwen!" They were in the very back of the group, which made it easier for talking without anyone being suspicious. But judging by the fact that they were singing, Kiel doubted any of the boys were listening to their conversation.

Orion was quiet for a moment. He scanned the group of boys. "There are only ten of us," he replied in a low, gruff voice. "If we fight them, we can take them all quickly."

Kiel grinned. That was probably the best idea he'd heard Orion say, and it wasn't too different from his _own_ plan that he'd made up in his head. "I'll take the first four. No, the first _five_. You guys take the other two—"

Owen's eyes widened. "No way! We aren't going to _fight_ them! They're just Boy Scouts. They won't be able to fight back. And they're not even dangerous."

"Yeah, but they're _annoying_."

Kiel raised his eyebrows at that, but he clapped his hands together, making sure he grabbed his friends' attention. "Okay, I have a better, much faster plan."

"What?" Owen and Orion asked at the same time, one expression hopeful and the other disgruntled.

"We'll start running on the count of one." He nodded at them. " _One_."

"Wait, Kiel —" Owen gasped, but Kiel had already sprung into motion.

Without a second of hesitation, he began sprinting away from the group. He grinned, feeling the warm wind whip through his hair. The singing had stopped. He could hear surprised shouts behind him, along with the sound of various shoes slamming against the ground. Bushes rustled from just behind him, giving him an indication that his friends were right at his heels.

"Hey!" the camp counselor shouted, sounding a lot less happy than he had a minute ago. "Where do you think you're going? We must stay together!"

"You'll never catch us!" Kiel shouted, leaping over a small stream. He was unable to stop grinning. Whether it was from the chase or breaking the rules or even the fact that he was running, he wasn't sure. It was more thrilling than anything, and a rush of adrenaline filled him, causing his legs to move even faster.

"He better not!" Owen said from behind him. "They're going to follow us now!"

Kiel threw a glance behind him, and saw that Owen was right. The camp counselor was racing after them, but was doing it with some difficulty. He didn't seem to be in shape, which was a good sign to Kiel. The other boys were following them too, huge grins on their faces. They were faster than the counselor, but Kiel knew he'd have no problem outrunning them. He'd been chased thousands of times, so he'd had plenty of practice with it.

"We should split up," Orion grunted, coming up beside Kiel. In all honesty, he looked relieved that they were leaving the group of Boy Scouts. "We can use the trees to our advantage."

"How will we find each other?" Owen asked, panting as he struggled to keep up with their fast sprint.

"Doesn't matter. We need to lose the Boy Scouts first." Then, he veered to the right, starting to run in the opposite direction. Kiel quickly glanced at Owen, who was still running next to him.

"Don't worry, I've got this!" Kiel told him with confidence, flashing him a wink. "Try to find the girls!"

Owen looked like he wanted to protest, but more shouts from the group behind him seemed to change his mind. Spinning on his heels, he turned back towards the campsite, disappearing behind some trees. Kiel only had a second to watch him go before he almost got his foot caught in a ditch, and he had to straighten himself out to avoid falling.

He sprinted across the forest floor, feeling more exhilarated and breathless by the second. One glance behind him told him that the group was still following, but some had split up to follow Owen and Orion, leaving the last three boys — plus the camp counselor — to chase after Kiel. Kiel didn't get why they were _still_ running after him, when clearly he was much faster and more agile than they were, but at least they'd be easy to lose.

"Hey! Wait! Come . . . back . . . here!" the camp counselor said, gasping for air. His feet slowed, and he took a few short breaths. He placed a hand against a tree, already looking exhausted. He gestured to the boys that were still with him. "Please, go . . . get . . . him!"

"Good luck catching me!" Kiel said, quickly changing directions. He pushed his hand against a tree, using his momentum to propel his feet forwards. Running made him feel alive and free, and he enjoyed the way that his heart pounded inside his chest. He could hear the boys running after him, all of them having some difficulty as the seconds bled into minutes.

This was going a lot better than Kiel thought it would! Splitting up had been a great idea, because now, the boys would have a lot more trouble catching them . . . if they even could keep up with them in the first place. The only thing he was worried about was Owen, but Kiel hoped that his friend would turn out fine. Even if he _did_ get caught, Owen had his time powers to help him out, so Kiel wasn't very worried.

Really, he wasn't worried at all! He felt more himself than he'd felt weeks ago, back when he'd been taking Five-Hour-Energy drinks to stay focused and awake. And he definitely felt more himself than he had a month ago, when he and Bethany were avoiding each other after their fight. Both of those times, he'd been close to losing hope. But here, all of the worries had drifted from his mind. The smile on his face wasn't plastered on to impress anyone. It was genuine.

That was why he loved this kind of danger. Maybe it was the way his heart was racing, or the wind in his hair or the smile on his face, but it made him feel carefree. He loved every second of it, more than anything else in the world. It distracted him from any worries of the future, and instead, it exhilarated him. It made him feel real.

When he was in danger, he felt exactly how he wanted to feel. Like the real Kiel Gnomenfoot, the hero who was fearless and unworried. The hero that fans had cried over and looked up to. It was the side of him that was the most inspiring, which was why he showed that side to his friends and fans. It was refreshing for that to actually be true, because right now, he really didn't _have_ any worries. He felt like himself . . . or at least, the part of himself that he showed to the world.

As Kiel continued to run, he heard shouting behind him, but assumed it was just the three boys yelling at him. Since they weren't being very loud, he could hardly hear what they were saying above his own loud breaths and racing heartbeat. A fallen log was in the path ahead of him, so he pressed his foot down on it, gracefully leaping off of it and landing back on the ground.

The trees around him seemed to multiply, and he had to push various twigs and leaves out of his way. He wasn't sure how much longer he should keep going, seeing that the forest seemed to stretch on for miles upon miles. Kiel didn't have a clue if he was heading the right way.

Plus, the farther he went, the farther he got from Owen and Orion. They were all going in opposite directions, trying to lose the group of Boy Scouts off their trail. He had no doubt in his mind that he wouldn't find his friends again, since he _was_ Kiel Gnomenfoot, after all. That part shouldn't be a problem, unless the forest happened to be much bigger than he thought it was.

If that was the case, it might be helpful to loop back in the direction that either of his friends had gone. But if he did keep going, there was a chance that he could make it to the cave first. The idea of that happening was enough to keep Kiel motivated. That would save them all the trouble of looking for the cave in the first place! Unless it was in the opposite direction, too.

The realization suddenly struck him that something had changed. He no longer heard footsteps behind him. A wave of confusion washed over him. Had they stopped chasing him? Bewildered, he gradually came to a halt. He was breathing heavily as he turned around and scanned the forest around him. Sure enough, no one was there.

His brows knitted together, and he felt even more confused than before. Had they really given up, or had they lost sight of Kiel? It was great if they had, but it just didn't make sense. They had just disappeared out of nowhere, without an indication of where they went or what happened to them. Where did they go?

"I don't think I've ever seen you stand so still," said a girl's voice from behind him, making him jump.

Kiel whipped around immediately. His eyes landed on a person walking from out of the trees. He broke out into a grin. "Charm? How'd you get here?"

She looked irritated. "We've been _looking_ for you. How long have you been standing there?"

"Hey, I've been running for like, ten minutes," Kiel told her. "I only stopped because I _lost_ those Boy Scouts when they were trying to follow us. A 'thank you' would be greatly appreciated."

"You didn't _lose_ them. I knocked them out."

"Ah." He nodded appreciatively. "Well, I did most of the work with outrunning them on my own. But great job knocking them out!"

Charm smacked him on the shoulder, just hard enough to send him stumbling a bit. "Seriously, Kiel?"

"What?" Kiel stared at her. "I said you did a great job!"

"Yeah, whatever."

Her ray guns must've still been in her backpack, because she was empty-handed. It wasn't the first time she'd used only her fists as weapons, which he assumed was what she'd used to knock out those boys. She also didn't seem to be injured in any way, which was a good sign. Most likely, the other girls were somewhere nearby, too.

"So, what happened to you?" he asked. "I'm guessing you guys went with your group into the forest, too? And what about Bethany, Gwen, and Kara? Did Owen get you? I told him to."

"No, I didn't see him," Charm replied, making an almost disgusted face. "Was I supposed to?"

He shrugged. "Well, I told him to look for you! I thought maybe he had. He was being chased by two of those Boy Scouts. Same with Orion."

"Why were you being . . ." She sighed, pressing her knuckles into her forehead. "You know what? I don't even _want_ to ask."

"It was all part of my brilliant plan," he said proudly, winking at her.

"I don't know why either of them would willingly _let_ you come up with a plan, but honestly I'm . . . really . . . _not_ surprised." She motioned for him to follow as she started walking across the forest. "Let's go. We'd better find them before one of us gets into more trouble." She gave him a pointed look, and he grinned back at her.

"Sounds good to me," Kiel said, kicking a rock with his foot as he fell into step beside her. "So, if Owen didn't get you, then how'd you know where to find me? This forest is pretty big, if you ask me."

"I didn't _know_ where to find you. I didn't even know you were here, specifically, but I had a hunch that you three would be somewhere around this forest."

"How'd you get away from your group?"

"We didn't go with a group. Our _stupid_ camp didn't send one, and according to Kara, they wouldn't be sending one out until tomorrow, which is _definitely_ too late. So we snuck out of the camp by ourselves."

"Nice." Kiel winked at her again, and she glared at him. "I would've thought of that, too."

"No, you wouldn't have."

"Is it really that hard to believe that I would've?"

"Yes."

Kiel glanced at the trees around them, where there wasn't another person to be seen. "Where are Bethany and Kara and Gwen?"

"They're waiting," Charm said. "Since I was able to track down Owen, I went ahead to find you all. Figured it'd be easier to send just me to look." A small radar dish pushed out of her human arm, spun around, then sunk itself back into her arm. "My signals detect movement that way." She pointed farther out into the forest. "All I know for sure is that's where Owen is."

"How could you find where Owen—"

"His robotic heart." She looked at him. "The one that I thought _you_ had, but instead, it was a complete stranger."

"Charm . . ." Kiel shook his head. "Look, I get it. A boy you barely know pretending to be the best-looking magician in the world? That was all so crazy. For me, especially!" He grinned, only for his smile to fade when she continued to frown. "Owen isn't a stranger. Not to me. He's my best friend. You need to give him a chance."

" _What_?!" Charm demanded, stopping for a moment. He stopped too. "Give him a _chance_? Why would I ever do that? After all he's lied about, why would I ever forgive him?"

"You don't have to forgive him," Kiel said. "What he did _was_ wrong."

She nodded. "It was."

"But I've forgiven him, haven't I?"

"You weren't there," she said, looking away from him angrily. "I asked him who he was. He lied directly to my face. He said he was _you_."

Kiel didn't know exactly how to respond to that. Yes, at first it had been weird when he discovered that Owen had been pretending to be him. But that'd been years ago, and he'd forgiven him instantly for it. Owen living out Kiel's final adventure had made them closer, almost like brothers. Kiel wouldn't have traded their bond for the world.

"It might be weird that he's read about us," he said finally. "But it doesn't change anything about—"

"It changes _everything_ ," Charm snapped. "For the longest time, I thought he was you. Why aren't you _angry_ about this? You should be. The fact that he pretended to be you in the first place is sickening."

"I _am_ one of a kind," Kiel agreed. "But I let go, Charm. I don't hold grudges. I never have. Maybe you should try letting go, too."

"No." She started walking briskly again. "I'm not about to take advice from you. I don't even know why I'm _talking_ to you about this."

"Being angry won't make you feel better!" he called after her, quickly catching up.

"You're very annoying, you know that?"

Undeterred, Kiel replied, "I prefer to think of myself as quite endearing, actually."

"Ugh." She made a frustrated noise.

"Remember when I found out I was a clone?" he said. "I was angry, then, too. But that didn't change anything. Owen makes mistakes, but he's still a good person. I'm sure it wasn't intentional if he hurt you. He cares about everyone. You have to see it from his side."

"I can't, okay?" Charm growled, not meeting his eyes. "I _can't_ see it from his side. All I know is that every time I look at him, I want to throw up."

Kiel found himself smiling. "Yet you say that about _me_. Why can't you forgive him if he's so much like me?"

"I just can't," she said, although she didn't sound so sure of herself anymore. "As of right now, I don't think I ever can. Nothing you can say will change my mind, so can you shut up already? I can't hear myself think."

He nodded, wishing he could say something more to convince her that Owen was a good person. But he knew that no matter how many good deeds he listed, Charm wouldn't forgive Owen. Kiel wished she would forgive him already so there wouldn't be any conflict between two of his closest friends.

Long ago, Kiel had forgiven Owen for living out his story in the seventh Kiel Gnomenfoot book. It'd only taken him a day to do that. So why couldn't Charm?

"Okay, I know you told me to stop talking, which I won't listen to because that was super rude," Kiel told her as he stepped over a tree root. "But since I'm _forgiving_ , I'm not going to hold a _grudge_." He emphasized his words, winking at her to get his point across. "I still think you should at least try to forgive him, Charm. I get it. You're super angry at him or whateve—"

"Shut up."

"Yeah, I'm not going to do that. As I was saying—"

She slapped a hand over his mouth. "No, _shut up_. Listen."

Kiel pulled her hand off of him, listening closely to the noises around them. Other than the noises of the forest that he'd heard ever since they'd jumped into this book, there was a rustling noise, and the unmistakable sound of footsteps. _Oh_. _That_ was what she was talking about!

His eyes widened as Charm pulled him behind a large tree, her eyes narrowed.

"That isn't Owen. I would be able to tell. Someone else is here."

"What's the big deal?" Kiel slowly poked his head out to see what was coming, only for her to pull him back into hiding. "It's not like anyone here is dangerous."

"You're too trusting of others," she whispered harshly back. "Now shut up before your stupid voice gets us both killed."

"Seriously? You're with Kiel Gnomenfoot right now," he said. "I will never die—" She then clamped a hand over his mouth again as the footsteps grew louder, and he went silent. He pushed her hand off of him again, but didn't say anything else.

He listened as the footsteps and rustling of leaves grew louder, indicating that the person was coming closer. He wiped his hands on his pants, which were sticky with sweat. Whether it was from nerves or the heat, he wasn't sure. Kiel blamed it on the heat. Him, being nervous because of something as harmless as this? No way! It was just footsteps; nothing to be nervous about.

The footsteps stopped for a moment, and both Kiel and Charm held their breath. Then, a boy's voice muttered, "Stop hiding. I know someone's there."

"Don't respond," Charm hissed in Kiel's ear.

"I can hear you," the boy said, louder this time. Kiel realized that he recognized the gruffness of the voice, and before Charm or anyone could stop him, he poked his head out from behind the tree. The dark-haired boy standing there was wearing a Boy Scout uniform, just like Kiel. It was—

"Orion?" Kiel said, his eyebrows shooting upwards in surprise. He pushed away from the tree, and Charm followed suite, her expression settling on irritation.

"Oh, it's just you," Orion grumbled, an edge of impatience to his voice. "Where's everyone else?"

"Bethany, Gwen, and Kara are waiting in a field not too far from here." She started walking, shoving past Orion. "Come on. We have to find Owen first."

Kiel followed right behind, but what he didn't notice was the shadow passing over the forest as the branches of the trees started to come to life.

* * *

The sounds of chirping crickets and birds accompanied Owen as he raced along the camp's nature trail, panting heavily. Several minutes after the two Boy Scouts had begun chasing him, he'd remembered his time powers and had quickly kicked them into gear, using them to get as far away from the Boy Scouts as possible. Luckily, he'd gotten so far enough away that he wasn't even sure where he _was_ anymore.

Owen wasn't exactly sure how long he'd been running. It helped that he had his time powers to help him out, because he could take breaks when needed. But since using his time powers tended to tire him out — plus, he'd fainted the last time he used them — he needed to keep going, just to get a good distance away before he almost fainted again.

Saying that he was annoyed was probably an understatement. He couldn't _believe_ what Kiel had done! He'd run off without giving Owen or Orion a choice but to follow! And even worse, the Boy Scouts had followed them. _Followed_ them! Owen had looked up to Kiel, expecting him to come up with something that would get them _out_ of trouble, not land them back into it!

It was a good thing that Owen had his time powers, at least. If he'd been running without them, he surely would've gotten caught. Not that getting caught was a _bad_ thing, because the Boy Scouts all seemed genuinely nice and it wasn't like they were going to hurt him. But if he _did_ get caught, he'd be taken back to the camp, and he would never have time to find his friends or the cave. That would be terrible!

As soon as he started to feel lightheaded, Owen slumped against a large boulder, slowly easing his hold on time. Immediately, his heart rate began to turn to normal. He wiped his forehead with his hand, which had long ago been coated with a sheen of sweat. That was a side effect of the humidity, and Owen had nearly forgotten what it felt like since he'd been immersed in winter for the past three weeks.

He took a few deep breaths, trying to ease the pain in his chest. Thankfully, the scent around him wasn't anything unpleasant. Breathing in the aroma of flowers and dirt was totally an upgrade from the gross dinosaur smell that was always in his nightmares. Not only did this place smell wonderful, but the scenery was stunning. It seemed so realistic — from the lush forests to the warm breezes — that Owen nearly forgot that he was in a book.

In a different situation, Owen might fully enjoy himself if he wasn't on an important mission to save the fictional worlds. All of the fun that the summer camp had to offer had been easy to lose himself in, and it felt good to enjoy himself at least for an afternoon, and part of this morning. He wished that he could be here for the purpose of enjoyment, not life or death.

With all the danger he'd gone through the past month, it was a nice change to be somewhere warm and inviting. At a summer camp, the only thing he needed to worry about was whether he accidentally forgot to tie his shoes or if he was having _too_ much fun.

But sadly, he wasn't here for the fun, as he had to remind himself . . . and Bethany, too had reminded him of that yesterday (because she didn't often enjoy having fun). Not that Owen blamed her. It wasn't right to enjoy himself for too long when there were more important things to do. They _had_ to stop the fictional worlds from being destroyed, and they had to do it fast.

He was here to find a stone that would grant them any wish, and hopefully that would take them to Nobody. Or maybe since it could grant any wish, it could help them _defeat_ Nobody! The idea made Owen hopeful. Could it really be that easy? Or would the stone work at all? Owen hoped so, but he knew that nothing was ever that easy. Nothing he'd faced in the fictional world had been.

He wasn't exactly dreading their mission for today, but the tight feeling in his stomach felt something close to it. He had no clue what would happen when they went inside this cave, or whether it was dangerous or not. But judging from the upbeat book they were in, he doubted that the cave would be anything but . . . well, a normal cave. Fowen would've told hem if it was a trap. Even as he told himself this, Owen didn't know what to think. He'd have to wait until he got there to find out.

Once his heart rate had slowed down enough that it felt close to normal, Owen cracked his eyes open and scanned the area around him. A small, relieved grin blossomed on his face. _Good_. He was alone. He'd have a much easier time finding his friends now that he wasn't being chased! Well, assuming he could even find where the girls' camp was from this direction.

He stepped away from the large boulder he'd been leaning against and glanced back at it for a better look. Campers — most likely grown-ups by now — had covered the boulder with friendly graffiti. It basically screamed "Girl Scouts were here", which meant that he might be on the right track to find Bethany, Kara, Gwen, and Charm.

If the Girl Scouts were planning the same activities as the boys today, they'd be somewhere around this area. At least, Owen really hoped so, because sneaking into the girls' camp by himself would be _way_ too embarrassing.

"Okay, Owen, your friends are counting on you. You can do this," Owen whispered to himself, but he didn't feel very confident as he said it. He slowly turned around in a circle. "If I was a Girl Scout, where would I . . ."

He trailed off as a shadow passed over the forest. Despite the drowsy heat, a chill went down his spine. A strange, cracking noise filled his ears. It took him a few seconds to see where the noise was coming from, and when he did, he gasped. The trees — which had been motionless a minute ago — had started _moving_. Slowly, the branches stretched themselves out, looking like skeletal hands.

His mouth hanging open in awe, Owen could only watch as the branches on the tree nearest him came towards him. He could hardly process what was happening, but he was more amazed than anything. Seeing trees come to life was something he'd read about in the Narnia books, but during the times he jumped in there with Bethany and Kiel, he hadn't actually _seen_ the trees move.

Fowen hadn't mentioned anything about moving trees . . . had he? Owen didn't remember, but he was pretty sure that he hadn't. Not that he ever would trust Fowen to tell the whole truth. Or maybe Fowen hadn't actually known that there were moving trees here?

Whether Fowen had mentioned it or not, it was really cool. A smile took over Owen's face as he slowly reached a hand out to touch the moving branches. He didn't know if trees got scared easily, so he didn't want to accidentally scare it away if he moved too fast.

Something curled around his ankle, and Owen only had a second to spot the tree branch wrapped around it before he was yanked into the air. Screaming at the top of his lungs, he was abruptly pulled upwards into the canopy of trees. He flailed around, still screaming as he tried to break free. All of the blood rushed to his head, and his eyes grew wide. He was hanging upside down.

"Hey!" Owen shouted, swinging his arms around as a second branch curled around his legs, tightly holding him in place. He desperately tried to move his legs, but it was impossible. "Let . . ." He balled his hand into a fist and tried hitting the tree with it. "Me . . . go!"

"Did you hear something?" a familiar voice asked, and Owen froze. He let his arms hang again, worn out from the effort of struggling. He tilted his head down just enough to see three people walking. They were wearing the same uniforms as everyone else here. Even when hanging upside down, he could just barely tell that the people were Kiel, Charm, and Orion.

"Help me!" Owen shouted, but before he could even say the words, a branch fastened itself around his mouth, causing his words to come out muffled. He rolled his eyes. Oh, come _on_.

Okay, these trees _definitely_ weren't the friendly ones from Narnia. _This_ was probably why the camp counselor hadn't wanted them to go off on their own. Could trees kidnap people? Maybe they'd turn him into a tree and Owen would be stuck like that forever! Oh no. He couldn't end up as a tree! He had to get out of here!

He tried to shout again, but nothing seemed to make his friends hear him. They continued walking just below the canopy, their heads turning in every direction except the one _he_ was in. Why couldn't they look up? If they did, they would see him right away, and Owen would be saved in no time.

"All I hear is birds and those cricket things," Kiel said. "Are you sure Owen is this way?"

"Of course I'm sure," Charm snapped, looking confused. "I don't get it. It says that he's right here, but I don't see him anywhere. If he's hiding on purpose, I am _not_ in the mood."

" _Guys_!" Owen shouted, but his voice was as muffled as if he was speaking through a pillow. It didn't help that he was hanging ten feet above their heads. "I'm right above you! Kiel, Charm, anyone, _help_!"

"I think I just heard something again," Charm said. Owen nodded vigorously, trying to get more words out but failing. He felt lightheaded from hanging upside down. The branches were curling around his stomach now, making it harder to breathe.

Owen had almost forgotten that Charm, being half-robot, must've had supersonic hearing. If anyone could hear him, it was her. He forced himself to try yelling again, even though he couldn't move his lips and the air was drifting out of his lungs.

"I'm still not hearing anything," Kiel said.

Orion frowned. "We should keep going. We're wasting time. Owen's not here."

"No!" Owen tossed his arm out, attempting to slap the side of a tree but missing by an inch. "Don't go! Help! I'm up—" The branch curled tighter around his mouth, and his words were completely cut off.

"I definitely heard something that time," Charm said, and dropped her backpack on the ground to take out her ray guns. She turned around in a circle before finally, _miraculously_ looking up. Her eyes met Owen's, and her jaw dropped open for a moment.

"Found him." She pointed, and Kiel and Orion followed her gaze. Both boys looked as shocked as Charm seemed to be.

"Well that . . . looks like a problem," Kiel said, shifting from foot to foot.

Orion raised an eyebrow. "How did he get up there?"

"The tree kidnapped me!" Owen said, but the noise that came out of his mouth was more like a weird moaning ghost. The tree branch twisted itself tighter around his waist, and he inhaled sharply.

"He says that the tree kidnapped him," Kiel translated, not tearing his eyes away from Owen.

Now _he can hear me?_ Owen thought, exasperated. A moment ago the only person who'd heard him was Charm. He was thankful at all that she'd managed to hear him. If she hadn't, he'd be hanging here forever, imprisoned in the branches of a tree.

"How could the tree have captured him?" Charm asked. "It's just a tree."

"Not just one tree," the boy magician said, and pointed at the trees that surrounded Owen. Even as he hung upside down, Owen could tell that the branches holding him weren't just from one tree; they were from various ones. Uh oh. This wasn't boding well.

"But trees can't move."

"Apparently they can here!" Owen tried to shout, but all that came out was a lot more muffled moaning.

"He said that they can here," Kiel said.

Orion just stared at him. "How can you tell what he's saying?"

Kiel winked. "I'm multitalented." He tilted his head towards Owen again, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Don't worry, Owen. We'll get you out of there!"

Owen swatted his arms around again, unable to do much but hang there helplessly. There had to be some way to break free, but since his arms were just out of reach of the branches, he couldn't pull himself out. The tree branches held tightly onto his body, not letting go even when he wriggled his legs around.

"Stand still!" Charm yelled up to Owen, and he glanced down again to see her aiming two ray guns at him. A muffled scream came out of his mouth, but it was barely heard over the loud noise that came next.

As Charm began firing at the tree branches that held him captive, an explosion-like noise erupted as the lasers came in contact with the branches. Owen was used to the noise that the ray guns made, but never had he been at the receiving end of it. He instinctively squeezed his eyes shut, yelping each time a laser came flying towards him.

It was a good thing that she had excellent precision, as she didn't miss the tree branches once. One wrong move and Owen would either be unconscious or dead . . . whichever setting that Charm had put on her ray guns. He _really_ hoped that she'd put them on stun.

He tried keeping his body as still as possible, but he couldn't stop himself from flinching each time a laser came near him. As the lasers peppered the branches holding him captive, the tightness around his legs gradually lessened. After getting hit a few times with lasers, branch around his mouth recoiled, giving him a chance to breathe.

Before Owen knew it, the branches lost their hold on him, and he found himself hurtling towards the ground. He opened his mouth to scream, but the sound wouldn't come out. His fear heightened as he fell down, the faces of his friends coming closer and closer. Time seemed to slow down, and for once, it wasn't because of his time powers. Kiel was calling his name, and Orion was quickly getting into position, looking ready to catch Owen at a moment's notice.

And then, a pair of arms unexpectedly wrapped around Owen's waist, and his entire body shook from the impact as his fall was halted. Blinking rapidly, Owen found himself staring at none other than Gwen, who's bright grin was enough to make him smile. "Gotcha!"

Gwen veered around, then set Owen back on the ground. The shock hadn't worn off yet. He wobbled a bit, feeling lightheaded and sick after hanging upside down for so long. He nearly fell to his knees, but Gwen quickly put an arm around him, and Kiel moved to do the same.

"Your timing is nothing short of fantastic," Charm said, shaking her head. Her expression was unreadable, but Owen thought he saw some relief in her eyes. Or . . . at least he _hoped_ it was relief.

Gwen smiled at her. "Thank you!" She turned to stare at Owen with concern. "Are you okay? Why'd you fall out of that tree?"

Owen was barely able to get the words out since he was breathing so heavily. "The . . . trees . . . kidnapped me . . ." He took a deep breath. "They were moving."

"It was like magic," Kiel said, glancing up at the trees. He frowned, looking almost disappointed. "But . . . they're not moving anymore! That's too bad. I would've wanted to fight one."

Owen had to smile at that. He had no doubt that Kiel would've tried fighting each and every tree just for the fun of it. He looked up, and saw that Kiel was right: the trees weren't moving anymore. He heaved a sigh of relief. Whew! The last thing they needed was for the trees to keep moving, since they were completely _surrounded_ by them.

"Wow, that was crazy!" Owen asked, still a bit breathless. "Did anyone hear Fowen mention that there were moving trees here?"

"I don't think so!" Gwen said.

"No," Orion said, glaring at the trees as if they were his worst enemy. "Definitely not."

"What matters is that you're safe," Gwen said, and Owen looked back at her. "I would feel terrible if you broke another arm!" She leaned closer and whispered, "I heard the story from Bethany."

He blushed, smiling. "Oh. Um, thanks."

"Could you explain to me what you're doing here?" Charm demanded, crossing her arms as she looked at Gwen. "I told you to wait until we came back."

"She saved Owen!" Kiel protested.

"I still told her to stay where she was," Charm said. She glanced around them. "What about Bethany and Kara? Did _they_ go anywhere?"

Owen perked up a bit at the mention of his other friends, and Gwen nodded. Then, she paused. "Well, they went into the future—"

"They _what_?!" Charm shouted.

"Looking for the cave!" Gwen finished. "Kara thought we'd have an easier time finding it if we watch our future selves find it and follow them! I think it's a great idea!"

"Of course _you_ do."

"I think it's a good idea, too," Owen said, and he wasn't just saying that because he trusted Kara. Despite time travel being crazy and insanely confusing with all its paradoxes, it would make finding the cave a lot easier.

He wasn't sure what was more surprising: that they'd gone to the future or that Bethany had gone _with_ Kara. He wondered if Bethany had agreed with Kara's idea that easily, or if she'd been against it. Probably the second option, if Owen had to guess. He didn't think that Bethany had ever time traveled before, so she likely would've been wary about it at first.

But if Bethany and Kara were following their future selves — well, at least a few minutes or an hour older than they were now — would that change anything about the present? Would it create a paradox, since the future versions of themselves had obviously found the cave without Kara traveling to the future? Or had the future version of Kara traveled to the future? Did that meant there were infinite versions of themselves in the futur—

Okay, all of this thinking about the future was giving him a headache! His brain would surely explode if he continued doing it, so he had to stop. He thought about asking Kara, but that would only confuse him _more_. He didn't know how Kara _wasn't_ confused every time she time traveled! It must've been because of her immunity to paradoxes, or something along those lines.

They made their way to the spot that Charm and Gwen had last seen Bethany and Kara, which was in an open field. On the way there, Owen's mind ran circles. Would Bethany and Kara have returned by now? Were they in danger? Had they seen anything exciting or terrifying in the future? There was no way to know, not until they returned to the present.

"Oh, um, thank you for saving me," Owen said as he hurried to walk beside Charm. "I really appreciate it. I wouldn't have gotten free if it weren't for you shooting the tree branches." Charm turned to look at him for a moment, then sped up her pace without saying a word.

"Great." He sighed. But when he looked at the situation from her point of view, he understood how she felt. Since it was Charm, it would take a long time for her to forgive him. Probably years, at this point.

He wondered for the hundredth time why he kept doing this . . . being nice to her when she only ignored him. It was risky to talk to her, he knew, but he really appreciated the fact that she'd actually worked to save him. It gave him a small ounce of hope, that maybe, just maybe, they could be friends someday. Even if it wasn't realistic, he held onto the thought.

As of right now, the only time she'd ever think of him as a friend was if he wrote her to. And he would never do that, because controlling others was wrong and it would prove to Nobody that nonfictionals were as cruel as he claimed them to be. Charm should have the choice whether she wanted to be his friend or not. Owen accepted that, even though he definitely didn't want to.

It was strange how time could change things. In the past, all he used to want was for Charm to have feelings for him. He'd draw doodles of her in math class or would reread all of her scenes in the Kiel Gnomenfoot books. Now, the only thing he wanted was to be her friend.

It was a strange realization, one that had begun to dawn on him the moment that he'd seen Charm two days ago. Maybe it was because he hadn't seen her in three years, or maybe from their fight just the other day, but the fluttery sensation that used to blossom in his stomach when he looked at her was gone. He didn't understand what it meant.

So instead of talking to Charm and getting more death glares in response, Owen walked next to his friends — the ones that made him feel confident and good — for the rest of the way. Kiel and Gwen were a given, but Owen had also made sure to include Orion, not wanting him to feel isolated.

Owen always felt a bit intimidated when he was near him, but over the past days he'd warmed up slightly to the boy. Maybe just because Orion was a superhero, and that was _insanely_ cool. Either way, Owen wanted the boy to like him. Orion was kind of Bethany's adopted brother, and since Bethany was Owen's closest friend in the entire world, he had to try.

As they walked, they contemplated what Bethany and Kara might be seeing in the future. There wasn't much to go off of, but it at least kept Owen from worrying too much about them. And he had to admit: he _was_ worried. He didn't know how they were doing in the future or if they were finding anything at all about the cave. He hoped that things were working out for them.

Owen was careful not to touch any of the trees this time, out of fear that he'd cause one to move again. He had no clue how the trees had started moving in the first place, but a shadow had definitely seemed to pass over the forest when they did. If they got to the field that Bethany and Kara were in before the trees happened to come alive a second time, that would be a miracle.

As Owen ducked behind branches and weaving beneath curved trees, he kept his eyes ahead of them, where he could see a field poking out of the line of trees. On their way, they passed a small pond, which seemed to glisten and sparkle in the morning light. He could feel beams of sunlight hitting the back of his neck, arms, legs, which hopefully wouldn't mean he'd end up with a sunburn by the time he left here.

They stepped out of the forest and scaled an old, rickety fence before entering a field, where the sun hit their faces full-force. Owen blinked, blinded for a moment. He squinted at the scene around him, his mouth hanging open. The field was filled with grasses that were long and golden, and wild flowers were in full bloom, scattered all around the field. A warm breeze shook through the field, causing the grasses to ripple and move.

"Where did they—" Orion impatiently began, but before he could even finish his sentence, the air in front of them began to spark, little electric fireworks exploding out of nowhere.

Without warning, two people appeared out of thin air, one of them crashing straight into Owen as the other kept their balance. Owen yelped as he was sent flying to the ground, and he fell right into the grass. He found himself staring at Kara from only inches away, who flashed him a slightly embarrassed smile. She quickly jumped to her feet, luckily not noticing the blush that took over his face. "Sorry about that!"

"It's — it's okay," Owen said, somehow breathless again.

Kara extended a hand towards him, and he gratefully took it, allowing her to help him up. His eyes were wide as he looked between her and Bethany, who seemed to be unharmed, if not a bit uncomfortable. He opened his mouth to say something, since his mind was burning with questions, but Kiel beat him to it.

"What did you see?" the boy magician asked, eagerly leaning forward. "Did you run into any danger?"

"More importantly, did you find the cave?" Orion questioned.

"No danger." Bethany shook her head, still looking a bit weirded-out. She glanced at Orion and nodded. "But we found the cave."

"That's amazing! I knew you two could do it!" Gwen said, squeezing Bethany's hand, who — seeming to be in a daze — slowly looked over at Gwen before returning her smile.

Owen frowned. Whatever they'd seen in the future, it looked like Bethany was in some state of shock. Had something bad happened in the future? It hadn't seemed like it when he talked to Kara, but then again, she was used to bad things happening in the future.

He leaned over to Kara, whispering, "Is Bethany okay?"

"She'll be fine," Kara whispered back. "It's just a side effect of time traveling for the first time. It'll wear off in a minute. We saw our future selves — well, it wasn't that far into the future. More like a few hours — and when you're seeing them for the first time it can be weird."

Owen shuddered. "I hope my future self doesn't do anything stupid that'll get us all into danger."

She gave him an odd look. "Didn't look like it. All we did was follow the future versions of ourselves to the cave, but either way, I don't think anything you could do would be stupid."

Owen's heart skipped a beat from the compliment, which had surprisingly seemed genuine. Did Kara actually think that? She was acting like he wasn't someone that messed up all of the time. It was common knowledge, after all. Even so, comfort and even a dose of happiness filled him at Kara's words, and he muttered an "Oh."

"This way!" Bethany said, taking the lead as she started to walk across the field and up a few grass-covered hills. She gestured for them to follow. Whatever daze she'd been in had seemed to vanish, as she was now concentrated on finding the cave. Her hair seemed to catch on fire as the sunlight hit it, flowing all around her in the breeze.

Kiel grinned mischievously, then took off into a sprint before stopping a few feet in front of her. "Way ahead of you, book-girl."

Bethany rolled her eyes, responding with something that Owen couldn't hear, as he was at the very back of the group and many of his friends were moving faster than he was. He picked up his speed, trying to move up the hill at a faster pace. Gwen, who'd been walking slightly ahead of Owen, pressed the throttle on her jetpack and soared into the air. She stayed a short distance above their heads as they walked.

Somewhere along the way, Owen's hand fell into Kara's. He hadn't even realized it had happened, just because they'd held hands many times before . . . mostly just when he was using his time powers. He wasn't sure if it was her or him that had initiated it, but it felt like a strange mixture of nice and embarrassing. Embarrassing because their friends were with them, but nice because holding her hand always felt that way.

Owen glanced over at Kara, unable to keep from smiling. He didn't even know why he was smiling in the first place, because his apprehension for this quest had been building up ever since this morning. But the way his heart leapt in his chest felt closer to exhilaration than fear, and although Owen wasn't sure exactly which it was, he knew that he didn't want to let go of Kara's hand.

He was really glad for the gesture, because having some sort of comfort before they went inside this potentially dangerous cave was exactly what he needed. He was growing nervous about this whole thing, and even though it sounded like a good idea it still didn't seem _safe_. Maybe it was because Owen had never read this book before that he was feeling this way, but no matter what, he needed to keep his guard up once they got there. Just in case.

After what felt like hours later (and probably had been) they reached the cave. The opening was huge and jagged, stretching far above their heads. It was positioned in front of a small brook, surrounded by a mass of tall trees. Owen wasn't sure if he was just imagining it, but the air also seemed to be much colder.

Despite how bright the sunshine had been all morning, almost no light had traveled inside the cave, making it look utterly dark from the outside. The only cave that he could vaguely remember being in was the one that they'd found the First Magician in, so he didn't have many caves to compare this one to. Were all caves this dark and scary-looking?

Even more ominous was the lack of crickets, which — as Owen knew from his time in _Pick The Plot_ — usually stopped chirping when there was a sign of danger. He had nervously expressed this to Bethany once they'd neared the cave, and even though she'd brushed him off, she seemed to be nervous, too.

He could tell that the rest of his friends were feeling the same way, even if they didn't verbally express it. Not that he knew for sure, but he assumed that they would be. They were going somewhere that none of them really knew anything about, aside from the fact that there was a magical stone in there. At least for Owen, it was hard _not_ to be nervous.

He glanced at Kiel. The boy magician was busy excessively tapping his wand-knives, which Owen thought might be a sign that Kiel was nervous. At least, that was what he'd read on fan theory sites a few years ago, before he'd met Kiel. Truthfully, he doubted that Kiel was actually nervous about this. He never seemed to get scared. If anything, he'd be the first one to go inside!

"Our best bet is to split up," Orion declared as they came to a stop in front of the cave. He swept his gaze across their group. "I would say that I should go alone, because you all would just slow me down." Bethany opened her mouth to protest, and he added, "But, me and Bethany will go ahead first, since we're Doc Twilight's sidekicks."

"Daughter," Bethany corrected.

He sent her an annoyed glare, and she returned it. He turned back to the others. "How about . . . Kiel and Kara? You two, pair up. Owen and Charm, pair up. And Gwen, you're on lookout in case any intruders try to come inside."

"I got you guys covered!" Gwen said, saluting with a smile.

"Shouldn't I go in first?" Kiel asked, clearly not keen on the idea. "I'm all set for pairing up with Kara, but I have my magic in case anything bad tries to kill us. Wouldn't that be more helpful than someone who doesn't have powers?"

Orion crossed his arms. "I wouldn't assume things that aren't true, if I were you."

"Who says it isn't true? You don't have powers."

Charm sighed. "I've saved two planets in the amount of time you've started this pathetic argument. Kiel, I know you're only saying that because you want to go with Bethany. Just admit it, so we can stop listening to this and get moving."

"That's not the reason," Kiel protested. "I have magic!"

"I think Orion and I are a better option," Bethany told him. "We trained a lot together when I lived in the fictional world, so we know how to fight together."

Kiel nodded, walking to Kara's side. Owen stared at the two of them for a moment, wishing that he had one of them as a partner for this mission. Or Gwen, but Orion had put her on lookout. Out of everyone here, he'd prefer to pair up with Bethany, but Orion was clearly set on pairing up with her. Even Orion himself would be better than partnering up with Charm, who Owen could barely talk to without getting his feelings hurt.

But there was nothing he could do, so he would have to get through this, one step at a time. Maybe it was a good thing that him and Charm were partners? No, who was he kidding? He was probably going to mess things up even more with Charm, and then she would never stop hating him.

Finding the stone, and _only_ finding the stone was his greatest priority here. It was all that mattered. Owen could only hope that pairing up with Charm wouldn't make this task any more difficult than it already was. It would be hard enough to find a magical stone in this huge cave. It would be even harder to try getting on Charm's good side.

While Owen internally freaked out, Charm sighed loudly and walked over to him, a frown on her face. He thought of the millions of possible things to say, but nothing came to mind. He nervously took out a flashlight from his backpack, fidgeting with it. Charm tapped her foot, a bored expression on her face as she studied her ray guns.

Owen took a deep breath. "So, do you think—"

"Let's get this over with," Charm interrupted, glancing over at him. "I'll do all the fighting, if it comes to it. Since, you know, you're basically useless and would instantly die if there was danger."

He was about to protest, but then glanced at the ray guns in her hands. He forced a smile, but it felt as difficult as pulling taffy apart. "Yeah . . . right. I get it. That sounds . . . good." He inwardly cringed again at his words, wishing he could stop feeling so nervous and ashamed around her. Not even having time powers made him feel any more confident.

One by one, the groups entered the cave. First it was Bethany and Orion, who were each holding flashlights of their own. Next went Kiel and Kara. Each of them were prepared to use their weapons at a moment's notice, keeping it close by in case anything dangerous happened.

As Owen and Charm entered the dark cave, he found himself staring at the back of Kara's head. She was only a few feet away from him as her and Kiel made their way to the left side of the cave. She was talking quietly with Kiel, and they were laughing about something.

Owen felt a weird surge in his chest, and his heart twisted a bit. A frown formed on his face. It didn't seem fair that Kara and Kiel were laughing and smiling, when Owen was stuck with Charm. He wondered what they were laughing about, and how Kara and Kiel could be having more fun than Owen ever would with Charm.

"Let's go this way," Charm said, pointing one of her ray guns towards the back of the cave.

Owen held his flashlight up, following where she was pointing. The flashlight offered some light, but it wasn't enough to stretch towards the back of the cave, so he directed it at the spot a few feet ahead of them, instead. Without it, he couldn't even see his own hand if we waved it in front of his face. Hopefully his flashlight wouldn't run out of battery, or else there'd be a bigger problem to deal with.

"Okay," Owen said, nodding along. "But isn't that where Bethany and Orion went?"

"No . . . they're right over there," Charm said, and pointed to the right side of the cave, where Owen could just barely see two flashlights bobbing in the distance.

"Oh!" He tried not to cringe. "Sorry, I got confused. I didn't even look over there. I thought that maybe they had . . ." He trailed off as she walked ahead of him.

"This is going to be a long day," he heard her mutter.

He sighed quietly before quickly following her, his flashlight wavering in his hand. His friends' voices echoed through the cave, growing quieter as the distance stretched between them. A few times, he would hear one of his friends shout something, thinking they'd found the stone, but had quickly changed their mind. There were plenty of stones in the cave, but none of them were magical. They were normal, boring stones.

Owen and Charm continued farther into the cave, which seemed to be impossibly big. Owen almost thought that it would never end, given how the cave just seemed to keep going and going. The cave also appeared to be getting darker the more they walked, and every time he looked over his shoulder, the entrance of the cave was getting smaller.

It was dank and musty, and for some reason, water kept dripping on him. The surface underneath his feet was hard and uneven, and he almost slipped numerous times. He was glad that he hadn't fallen all the way, because the bottom of the cave was filled with sharp edges.

Owen's foot collided with something that felt like a rock, and his heart leapt. He quickly pointed his flashlight at it, his hope sinking immediately. To his disappointment, it was just another normal stone. Nothing magical about it, unfortunately. All of the stones here looked boring, but as Owen knew from years of reading books, looks could be deceiving. For all he knew, any of the stones here could be magical.

He glanced over at Charm, who was a few feet away from him, analyzing something on the ground. Instead of walking over to her, he turned in the opposite direction and crept forwards. Then, he stopped in his tracks. At the end of his flashlight beam was a pile of large rocks. They were stacked on top of each other, blocking what looked like the entrance to a cavern.

"Hey, I found something!" Owen shouted, feeling a shiver of fear going through him. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a bit proud of himself. If this cavern had the stone inside, then Charm shouldn't have anything bad to say about him anymore. And, it would just make him feel good in general, since he finally would be truly doing something helpful.

"What?" Charm walked over to him, and he pointed at the blocked cavern. Her eyebrows raised, and she went close to it. A red grid passed over her eyes as she stared down the rocks, and she turned back to him, shoving her ray guns in his hands. "Take these. And _don't_ use them."

"Got it." Owen shifted under the weight of the ray guns, but held them close to his body. He was careful not to move them too much, as he didn't want Charm to yell at him more.

He watched as Charm swung her robotic arm back and punched the rocks multiple times. With her super-strength, it was easy for her to push the rocks aside. Within seconds, all of the rocks had been destroyed, leaving the entrance of the cavern wide open. The impact caused dust to form everywhere, and Owen coughed, waving his hand around to send the dust out of his lungs.

Handing Charm's ray guns back to her, Owen pointed his flashlight at the cavern's entrance, moving it around to see better in the darkness. The two of them slowly shuffled through the entrance and found themselves in a huge cavern. The walls were made completely out of rock, and a small chunk of the ceiling was missing, allowing a small ray of sunlight to peak through.

"Huh," Charm muttered. He saw where she was looking, and he couldn't help but gasp.

In the very spot where the sunlight was hitting, a glowing object lay on what looked like a pedestal, which was made out of gold. It took him a moment to realize what it was. The magical stone! This was it. It _had_ to be. There was clearly no other stone that seemed to glow in the way that this one did. It was bright even from a distance.

All in all, it looked like one of the coolest things that Owen had ever seen.

"Whoa . . ." Owen breathed, his mouth hanging slightly open as he took in the scene before them. He glanced back at Charm, who wasn't moving. "Are you coming?"

"I'd rather stay here," Charm said, not bothering to move. She made a disgusted face. "I really hate magic."

 _Fair enough_ , Owen thought. He started walking again, shining his flashlight at his feet so he wouldn't accidentally trip over anything. As he got closer to the stone, he noticed something that he hadn't before. He shuddered, and nearly would've turned around and bolted away if it weren't for Charm standing there.

Positioned behind the stone, wedged between two gigantic rocks was a mummy. It had clearly once been well-made, but now it was covered in dust, and looked close to falling apart. A small, squeaking noise emerged from Owen's throat. He felt the urge to throw up as he looked at it, or maybe just scream, but he forced himself to ignore it.

Okay, he definitely needed to be careful here. From all the times of watching Indiana Jones movies, Owen knew that mummies were bad news. One wrong move and the mummy would come alive, or maybe the entire cave would collapse. Owen prayed that neither would happen. He was terrified enough.

Tentatively, he approached the stone, which seemed to glow even brighter as he walked towards it. Owen could practically feel the energy radiating off of it. For a moment, he simply stared down at it, marveling over how cool it looked. To be fair, he didn't think he'd ever seen a magical stone before. It was bright green and shinier than anything Owen had seen before.

Owen was tempted to reach out and grab it, but he held himself back. Whenever a magical item was in a cave, such as the magical lamp in _Aladdin_ , taking the magical item would trigger some kind of curse. That had happened in the Indiana Jones movies, too, so he knew what to expect. Before he did anything, he'd have to make sure that that wouldn't happen. The last thing he wanted was to get cursed!

His eyes landed back on the mummy, then scanned the room. As far as he could tell, it was the only mummy here, which meant that his theory was very likely that a curse would be triggered. Well, it was now or never. They needed the stone, and they weren't going to get it if Owen chickened out. All he could do was hope that nothing bad would happen.

" _Please_ don't release a curse on me," Owen said quietly, as he glanced at the mummy again. "I know that that happens all the time in movies, but I really need it to _not_ happen now. I only need to borrow the stone. My friends think this whole thing is a bad idea, and I really don't blame them. I do, too. But it's the _only_ way to find Nobody, since my friend Kiel's location spell isn't working. So if it's all right with you, I'm gonna take it."

"You got it?" Charm shouted, and Owen jumped. Somehow, he'd actually forgotten that she was there.

"Yeah, one second!" Owen quickly yelled back. Hoping that things would go right for once, he took a deep breath and gently curled his fingers around the stone.

As he touched it, his hand began to vibrate intensely, and he gasped. He nearly leapt backwards in surprise, but he forced himself to pick up the stone and slide it into his shirt pocket. The vibrating immediately subsided as soon as he removed it from the pedestal, which was helpful. At least he wouldn't have to suffer while he carried it around!

Now that he had the stone, there was only one thing left to deal with. Nervously, he glanced back at the mummy, which wasn't moving. He sighed in relief. Good. He was just being paranoid! This was just a regular, harmless mummy. That was all it was. Just a mummy. A grin tugged at his lips, but his joy abruptly faded when the ground began to shake.

"Oh no," Owen whispered, and his hands shook so badly that the flashlight fell out of his hands.

He could only stare, his fear escalating as the mummy began to tremble. As it shook, the outer layer of the mummy began dissolving into dust. A strong wind ripped through the cavern, causing his hair and clothes to whip around violently. The mummy shook harder and harder, until finally, it exploded into pieces.

The explosion knocked Owen off of his feet, and he yelped as he hit the rocky ground hard. All of the air rushed out of his lungs, and for a moment he just laid there, feeling nothing but pain. He coughed, struggling to regain his senses. He tried to take a deep breath, but all he could breathe in was dust. That made him cough more.

Before he had the chance to climb back to his feet, a voice echoed across the cavern, making him freeze. "You _stole_ my stone. And for that, the ones that you call your friends will _pay_."

What?! This was so bad! What had he done? Owen opened his mouth to reply, but he was shaking so hard that he couldn't even form a sentence. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, still coughing.

He whipped his head around, trying to find the source of the voice. He couldn't see anyone. What was going on? Where was the voice coming from? And most importantly, what was going to happen to his friends?

Owen stumbled to his feet, feeling dizzy and afraid and sick. He took a step in Charm's direction, only to stop breathing completely. Charm wasn't there anymore. His eyes widening, Owen ran to the spot that she'd been, right at the entrance of the cavern.

"Charm? Charm, where are yo—" he began, but before he could even finish his sentence, the entire cavern shook. He held his arms over his head as rocks began to fall from the ceiling, causing little tremors to erupt. When the shaking had stopped, Owen slowly opened his eyes again. Fear seized him.

The entrance to the cavern was _closed_.

"Oh no," Owen whispered again, and now he _really_ felt like he might throw up. "Please, no. No, no, no!" He raced to what used to be the entrance, slapping his hand against the huge rocks. Unlike Charm, he didn't have a super-strong arm, and the rocks refused to budge. He felt tears prick his eyes. He had to get out of here! He had to get to his friends before that creature, whatever it was, did something horrible!

"Guys!" Owen rasped, throwing himself with all his might against the wall in a panic. Not that it did anything, aside from making his shoulder sore. "Kara! Bethany! _Kiel_! Can anybody hear me?! _Hello_?!" He slapped his good hand against the rocks until it stung. "I need to get through! It's a trap! You're in danger!"

But it was too late.

* * *

 _"_ _All this running around. I can't fight it much longer . . ."_


	35. Fires

**_Someone To Stay (by Vancouver Sleep Clinic)_**

 _"_ _You've been fighting the memory all on your own. Nothing washes, nothing grows . . ."_

* * *

 _i._ _thantophobia; the fear of losing someone you love_

Bethany heard laughter.

It wasn't the kind that you'd hear in horror movies, where a creepy doll giggled for an unreasonable amount of time. It was the kind of laughter that could be heard from children — all joyful, high-pitched giggles. The sound washed over her like a melody, comforting and sweet.

"Say 'cheese'!"

Her eyes snapped open, and the first thing she saw was a group of little kids standing around a kitchen table, hovering next to a red-haired girl in a blue dress. On the table in front of them was a cake with four candles on top of it. There was a sudden flash of light, so bright that it penetrated Bethany's irises. She turned to see that there were two adults next to her; one of them had just taken a picture.

In her dreamlike daze, she turned around, scanning the area. For some reason, this place was incredibly familiar. The colors of the walls, the furniture, and even right down to the cracks in the floor she recognized. It was as if she'd been here before, but in that moment, it was hard to think of much of anything.

Still laughing, the kids and even the two adults broke into song, their eyes on the little girl seated at the table. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Bethany, happy birthday to you!"

 _Bethany?_ Bethany blinked. Wait, wasn't that _her_ name? This was confusing. Were they referring to her, or was the girl called Bethany, too? Something didn't feel right. Not that she could identify what it was, because her brain barely seemed to work and nothing in the party seemed to be a threat.

In fact, the happy environment made her feel more at ease. The partygoers looked peaceful and happy, which sucked the doubts right out of Bethany's mind. The atmosphere was rejuvenating and joyful, and there were delighted smiles on everyone's faces. A faint smile slowly came to Bethany's own face as she watched them with interest.

However, that contentment still left out the fact that Bethany had questions that needed answering. She walked over to the man. He had the same bronze hair color as she did, accompanied with a beaming smile on his face. She recognized him instantly, but she couldn't wrap her head around who he was, or how she knew him.

"Hi, I'm Bethany," she said. "I think I might be lost. Can you help me?"

Either the man was extremely rude, or he just didn't see her, because he continued looking right through her as if she wasn't there. She couldn't help but shudder. Everything felt unreal and foggy, like she was in a dream. But that couldn't be true, because the scene seemed very normal compared to the wild dreams she'd had before.

"Time to cut the cake!" the woman said in a cheerful tone, setting her phone down after another spree of picture-taking.

"Daddy, watch!" the little girl shouted, and she suddenly pitched face-first into the cake. Frosting, candles, and chunks of cake flew everywhere. Kids and adults alike flinched away, including Bethany, although she wasn't sure if she had to worry about getting hit with cake, given how no one was noticing her.

The man laughed, long and loudly in a way that made Bethany's heart squeeze. She found herself smiling at the sound. The little girl pulled her face out of the cake and laughed too, wiping frosting off of her face with her hands. She gleefully shoved her hands into her mouth, licking all of the frosting off of her hands.

"That's not how we eat cake!" the woman reprimanded, but Bethany caught sight of the blossoming smile on her face. "Save room for the other kids! What about them?" She glanced back at the man, placing the knife she'd been holding down. "Guess there's no point in using this now."

"You heard her, kids!" the man said. "Go for it!"

One by one, each of the kids shoved their faces into the cake, getting frosting all over their faces, hair, and clothes. Cake and frosting peppered every surface of the room. The woman cringed each time the room got dirtier, but she didn't move to stop the kids, instead sitting back and watching with an amused smile.

In spite of herself, Bethany grabbed for a chunk of cake that'd been sitting on the table and tossed it into her mouth. It seemed that she wasn't a ghost after all, because the cake didn't fall out of her hands. The taste of chocolate and frosting erupted in her mouth, and she easily swallowed.

She grinned through chocolate-covered teeth, feeling strangely blissful. She seemed to have forgotten all about the weirdness of earlier, how the man hadn't been able to see her. Neither had the rest of the kids or the woman, but for some reason Bethany was unbothered by that fact. She was so distracted that it hardly seemed to matter.

"Who's ready to open some presents?" the man asked, holding up a pile of wrapped gifts.

"PRESENTS!" the little girl shouted, her bronze hair flying behind her as she raced into the living room. The other kids followed, collapsing into laughter. As the woman started to clean up the dining room, the man retreated to watch his daughter open her presents. Just like that, the pleasant feeling wafted out of the room. Or at least, out of Bethany.

"No," Bethany whispered as she watched them, though she wasn't exactly sure why. Maybe it was the cold feeling that had entered her, or because her brain had just started to piece everything together.

Something horrible had happened here: a mistake that would haunt her forever. The realization hit her full in the face, and she felt the sudden urge to follow the kids. It was a memory that she was seeing. Her _own_ memory. She didn't quite remember what the mistake was, but she knew that she had to prevent it from happening. Whatever was about to happen, it would turn her world upside down.

She tried taking a step forward to follow them, but her feet had become glued to the floor. A shiver of fear coursed through her, and her eyes widened to the size of saucers. She tried moving again, but it was as if an invisible force was keeping her from moving. What was going on?

" _No_ ," Bethany said again, her voice rising in volume. She pushed her legs out, but it was no use. Nothing would make her move. "Let me fix this! Let me save him!"

"What is it?" she heard the man ask from the other room. This scene was so familiar to Bethany that she knew exactly what her own next words would be, even as she was watching from a room away.

"It's a book," Bethany and the little girl said at the same time, although the girl had a much happier tone to her voice.

Next to Bethany, the woman froze. She'd been busy piling up the plates in her hands, ready to take them into the kitchen for cleaning. But the state of the dining room seemed much less important to the woman now, as she dropped the plates back onto the table with a _thud_.

"No . . ." the woman — her _mother_ — whispered, looking horrified. Her mouth opened as if to yell something, though no sound came out. She turned around and set her legs into gear, but it seemed that she was having trouble moving, too.

The invisible bonds that'd been holding Bethany in place let go, and she found herself running along with her mother. But she was too slow. Miles seemed to stretch between her and the doorway of the living room. She willed her legs to move faster, but it was like running through a lake of honey. Every movement was too slow, and it didn't help that her brain still had that fogginess inside of it.

A billion years had passed by the time she reached the doorway, and it was still not fast enough. Even if she'd moved at the speed of light, it probably wouldn't have been fast enough. The sight of the empty living room was like a punch in the gut, and Bethany felt like all the wind had been knocked out of her. There were only presents laying on the floor, some opened and others still wrapped.

Everyone was gone.

"N-No," Bethany choked out, bracing herself against the wall. Her knees wobbled, and she would've fallen to the floor if it weren't for her hands securely clutching the side of the wall. Her ears rang, sounding so loud yet even louder were the words that came out of her mother's mouth.

"NO!" Bethany's mother wailed. Bethany could hardly breathe, could hardly even think. She felt numb as she stood there, watching as her mother ran to the book on the floor.

"Bethany . . . no, my little girl! Come back!" her mother shouted down at the book, a sob building up in her throat. She scraped at the pages desperately, as if trying to reach through and pull someone out. She screamed Bethany and her father's names over and over again, pleading for them to come back.

As her mother began to sob, Bethany turned away, unable to watch. She felt furious, furious that she still hadn't been able to do anything and furious that she was stuck here, stuck in her worst memory yet. Her heart felt as though it were being ripped in half. Miserable wouldn't even begin to describe the way that she felt in that moment.

No, it was _agony_. If it was possible for every muscle in her body to ache, it apparently was. She didn't want to watch this again. She'd already spent years watching her mother cry over her father, but somehow, this was even worse. The night she'd lost her father had taken a toll on both Bethany and her mother, and neither had woken up the next day as the person they were before.

"Please, take me out of here! I can't — I can't watch this happen _again_!" Bethany shouted up at the ceiling. When no one answered, she added, "Why are you _torturing_ me?! Haven't I lost my dad _enough_ times?!"

Again, there was no response. It was all so confusing and terrible, that she was back inside her memories, living out the worst night of her life. Forced to watch, unable to move or stop anything or save her father. Even eleven years later, Bethany would never forget that night. It felt like a nightmare back then, and it still was now.

And then, she heard a strange sort of choking sound. Her first thought was that her mother was still crying, but the small relieved laugh that came out of her throat was certainly far from depressed. Eyes filled with tears, Bethany turned around to see a tiny hand sticking out of the book. Her breath caught in her throat.

Bethany's mother quickly wrapped her larger hand around the smaller one, her tear-streaked face alight with hope. With all her might, she pulled the person out of the book. It was one of the children from the party, followed by another child that climbed out of the book next. More and more children emerged from the pages of the book, some crying and others seemingly happy.

After all of the children from the party had successfully been transported back into to the living room, the girl in the blue dress climbed out. There was a huge grin on her face, and her eyes danced with excitement. "Did you see, Mommy? Did you see what I did?"

A sob wracked Bethany's mother's chest as a small, shaky grin tugged at her lips, and she hugged the girl tightly. "Oh, thank god."

Watching them hug filled her with a weird kind of gladness, which was so unexpected that it was almost painful . . . not that she _wasn't_ feeling enough pain already. Bethany barely remembered this part from her memory, and it felt like the calm before the storm. A few seconds later — she knew, with growing dread — nothing would ever be the same.

Her mother pulled away just as quickly, grabbing the girl firmly by the shoulders. "Where is your father, Bethany? Where is he?!"

The girl knitted her eyebrows together, then reached her hand back in. She exclaimed something unintelligible, confusion and fear crossing her face. She stuck her head inside the book for a few seconds, only to take her head out and turn to her mother. The color had drained out of her face. "I can't find Daddy!"

"What?" Bethany's mother went pale. Frantically, she grabbed for the book and peered at it, as if she could see him through the pages. "What do you mean? Where is he? He has to be in there!"

"I'll — I'll look for him again. Don't worry, Mommy. We can find him."

"No. I don't want you doing that," Her mother said as the girl reached for the book, shutting the book tightly and placing it on the table, a few feet out of the girl's reach. She blinked several times, covering her mouth with her hand as she held back another sob. "T-The party is over. I'll call your friends' parents."

"Mommy?"

The girl's face fell, but she looked confused, as if she didn't quite understand what had happened yet. She stared wordlessly at her mother as she left the couch and started talking on the phone, her voice shaking. The girl's eyes drifted to the book on the table, and Bethany could practically feel the same heartbreak that the girl was experiencing.

"You promised you wouldn't go into the fictional world," Bethany heard her mother say only seconds after she'd hung up on the phone, and it suddenly occurred to Bethany that the birthday party had faded away, replaced by a normal-looking living room. She barely had time to feel confused at the sudden switch, as it had happened so quickly.

"But you lied!" her mother continued with a furious look on her face. "You _lied_! That was such a terrible thing for you to do! You've ruined everything! How could you do this to me?!"

"Mom," Bethany said, shaking her head in protest. "I'm so sorry. I'll make it up to yo—" But before she could finish her sentence, her mother cut her off.

"You will never be able to make it up to me." Her mother threw her hands in the air. "My own daughter is a liar! Knowing that you've lied and jumped into books behind my back is a worse betrayal than anything I've ever felt. I will _never_ tolerate this again."

"Mom?"

Glaring at her, Bethany's mother replied, "You wanted so badly to be away from me?"

"No, that's not—"

"Don't make excuses!" she snapped, and Bethany flinched. "I _know_ you did! I get why you jumped into books."

"W-What? What do you mean?"

"What don't you understand?" Her mother shook her head, looking disgusted. "It's so hurtful that you'd do it so selfishly, all without telling me. If you'd told me earlier, I might've forgiven you." She sighed. "But I'll never be able to trust you with anything ever again. It's too late for forgiveness. Many years too late."

"N-No . . ."

"You've hurt my feelings and betrayed my trust. Even worse, you got your father lost! What kind of daughter does that?"

"I'm sorry," Bethany told her, her eyes on the ground. Shame and guilt filled her, two emotions that she was used to experiencing. "I was trying to look for Dad. It was the only thing I could do."

"No, it _wasn't_ the only thing. You could've chosen to listen to me. You could've stayed in the nonfictional world, where you'd have been safe. I set up all of these rules for you, and what did you do? You _broke_ them. I was trying to keep you safe! I realize now that nothing I ever do will matter, because you only care about your own needs."

"That's not true!" Bethany protested, shouting now. "I care about you _and_ Dad! I care about my friends—"

"If you really cared about them, you wouldn't have put them into danger," her mother simply replied, her voice ice cold. "You wouldn't have gotten your father lost, and you wouldn't have betrayed me." She took a step back. "I'm sorry, Beth, but you've lost me for good. I can never forgive you."

Before Bethany could do or say anything, her mother faded away, disappearing completely. Just like that, she was gone. Her own _mother_. The woman that Bethany admired, who remained so strong through all the years that her husband had been missing. The woman who gave her long hugs and worked long hours and sometimes braided her hair when Bethany felt like it. _Gone_.

Bethany gasped, and she threw herself towards the spot where her mother had been, only for her hands to pass through thin air. Her legs began to shake. She was so afraid and confused. "Mom! _Mom_! Where are you? _What can I do_?!"

She turned around, and she was given an answer as she stared at her open front door at the other end of the hallway. Instead of her street and neighborhood on the other side of the door, there was a meadow. The same one from the children's book that she'd jumped her father and an entire group of kids into during her fourth birthday party.

Swallowing hard, Bethany straightened her shoulders and stepped through the door. In the distance of the meadow that she was in, there was a tree. It caught her attention immediately, as it was the only tree within a mile radius. She was drawn towards it by some unseen force — like a moth to a flame — and before she knew it, her feet were propelling her forward.

Without even knowing why, Bethany's pulse quickened. As she walked around the side of the tree, she realized that a person was sitting there, leaning their head against it. She sucked in a gasp. It was the man from earlier. Only this time, Bethany knew exactly who he was. And she wouldn't let him go now.

As she came closer, she saw that the man's eyes were closed, as if he were asleep. The sound of grass crunching beneath her feet caused the man's hands to twitch, and his eyes fluttered open. His eyes landed on her. Recognition poured over his face, and he lifted a hand towards her. "Beth?"

Bethany swallowed hard, feeling an enormous lump in her throat. She squatted beside him and outstretched her hand, daring to believe he was existing. Was this real, or was it all a dream? Was he really here, only a foot away from her? He was actually alive?

"Dad?" Her voice came out small and choked. "Is that you?"

"Beth," her father repeated, looking immensely tired for some reason. A warm smile appeared on his face. "I always hoped you'd come."

"Of course I came," Bethany whispered, gently curling her hand around his. His hand, much larger than her own, was surprisingly soft. Since he looked generally weak, she refrained herself from hugging him, even though she really wanted to. "Don't worry. I'm here, now." She sighed. "It's been . . . awful without you."

Her father stared blankly at her. "Why?"

Bethany blinked, feeling slightly confused. "Why do you think? You've been missing."

"I'm not missing." Her father smiled again. "You found me."

"Yeah. I did!" She briefly smiled back, but for some reason, something didn't feel quite right. "I missed you _so much_ , Dad. I looked for you at every chance I got, every day— _every_ day for years. I always knew you were out there. I never believed for a second that you weren't. I _always_ knew that I'd find you someday, and . . . I could bring you home."

"Home?" Her father gave her a quizzical look. "I'm not going home."

Her lip quivered, but she fought to keep her emotions together. "But you've been missing! You _need_ to come home. Now that I'm my normal self again, I remember everything. If I had remembered earlier when I was fully fictional, I would've taken you with me straight away. You know that." She tugged on his hand, attempting to pull him to his feet. "Come on, Dad."

He shook his head, pulling his hand out of her grasp and back to his side. "No, Bethany. Stop. You understand the reason I left? I prefer to be here. This _is_ my home."

Bethany glanced around, knowing that he wasn't referring to the meadow around them. "Jupiter City is my home, too," she said quietly. "But I live in the nonfictional world, and so does Mom. We've missed you more than you could even imagine. You don't understand how _awful_ life has been without you. A piece of me always felt like it was missing, and now it's — it's _not,_ because I've finally found you."

He didn't respond, and so she added, "I can't live without you. Don't you get that? Please, just come with me."

" _No_." Her father gave her a stern look, and Bethany felt her heart twist in pain. He ripped his hand out of her grasp. "I'm never going back, Beth. I don't want to."

"You don't . . . want to?" His words were like a punch in the gut, except so much more painful than that. Bethany's ears rang as she stared at her father in utter disbelief, a million thoughts floating through her brain.

 _He doesn't love me. He doesn't want to come home. He never wanted to come home. He doesn't love me or my mom. He hates us. After all this time, he never cared about us. He wanted to leave. He's not coming home, he's not coming home, he's not coming home, he's not —_

He sighed. "You know what? It's better to just forget about me. You shouldn't worry about me anymore. I'm never going home. I hate it there, and I especially don't want to see you or your mother ever again."

"D-Dad?"

"Go home without me, Bethany."

"No," Bethany whispered, her bottom lip quivering against her will. "Dad, please. I'll do anything, _anything_ to convince you to come with me! Please just tell me. What do you want me to say? What should I do?!"

"There's nothing you can do," her father said, and the coldness in his voice made her want to cry. "You know that, don't you?"

She took a shaky breath, barely able to compose herself. "There _has_ to be something."

"There isn't. You've already lost me, so _go home_."

Her father's image started to disappear before her eyes. His body turned into a wisp of smoke, floating away into the air and fading into nothing. Bethany could only stare, shock and fear coursing through her veins. _He was gone_. A small, choked noise came from the back of her throat.

She dove forward, clawing with her hands at the spot he'd just been sitting. Her hands only passed through thin air. She desperately looked around, feeling around everywhere for him. He was nowhere to be seen. Now, there was only an empty meadow surrounding her. Her eyes filled with hot tears, and she screamed, " _NO!_ "

She couldn't lose her father! Not again! He meant everything to her. A flood of water poured from her eyes, streaming down her face in an endless current. She forcefully wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as her vision blurred, then yelled his name several times at the top of her lungs.

Her heart felt so heavy and fragile, like it'd shatter into a million pieces at any moment. She couldn't loose him. Not again. Not _now._ She was shaking violently, unable to stop. She ran aimlessly around the meadow in search of him, her mind a hazy cloud. All of the fight drained out of her.

Everywhere she walked, there was no one to be seen. She wandered around the meadow for what felt like hours, her arms spread wide as she blindly looked for him. It felt like her life had become a nightmare. Her worst fears had come true, and there was no way to make her father come back. It was no use. He had disappeared for the second time. He was never coming home.

" _COME BACK!_ " Bethany screamed, her throat hoarse. She sank to her knees, her back hunching over and her hands dropping to her sides. The tears wouldn't stop running down her face, and she sobbed hard, her shoulders heaving.

This went on for hours . . . or at least, it _felt_ like it did. Her sobs eventually subsided after a long time, but the heartbreak didn't. At the loss of her father, her chest was filled with excruciating pain. She didn't know what to do. For years, she'd searched for him in the hopes that she'd be able to bring him home. That'd been her sole motivation. What could she do now?

A gentle breeze blew against her, suddenly much colder than it had been a second ago. Had she just imagined it, or had the temperature gotten much colder? Not that it really mattered to her; all she could think about was her father. But then, snowflakes peppered the ground around her, and she lifted her head in surprise.

Feeling confused, she pushed herself to her feet and wiped her wet eyes with the back of her hand. Instead of the meadow that she'd been in, she was suddenly standing on a sidewalk without a clue of how she'd gotten there. She was surrounded by buildings, and cars zipped down the road, blowing strands of hair in her face. The air was freezing, and a light snowfall fell from the cloudy sky.

What surprised her most, however, was that the person standing in front of her was not her father. It was a boy, a few inches taller than her with black hair and equally dark clothes. Snowflakes peppered his hair, standing out and looking like white dots. His face was flushed from the cold as he stood directly in front of her, staring at her through lilac irises.

Kiel.

The scene felt all too familiar, but Bethany only half-made sense of it. After watching her father get taken away from her, she was so relieved to see him. It was like seeing a ray of sunlight after a long, dark winter. That relief was short-lived, however, as she — too late — recognized the place she was in. There was another mistake that'd been made here, another person in her life who she'd temporarily lost.

She opened her mouth to form a sentence, but the words that poured out of her mouth were far from what she'd been about to say. "I hate you."

She gasped, trying to clamp a hand over her mouth but her arms refused to move. Her eyes widened in shock, as did Kiel's. What? How could she say that? She felt the exact opposite about Kiel! She opened her mouth again to apologize, but the words wouldn't come out this time. It was as if she was being controlled, unable to have power over her own words.

Kiel's smile faded, hurt flitting across his features. "What? You . . . hate me? Listen, I'm not going to take what you're saying to heart, because I know you would never mean —"

"I _do_ mean it," Bethany blurted out, much to her horror. She felt tears build up in her eyes again, and she tried again to cover her mouth with her hand. It was to no avail, because no part of her body would willingly move. Her lips began to quiver, and a tear slipped out of her eye. Not that Kiel seemed to notice.

"Why?" Kiel asked, his voice cracking. This time around, Bethany noticed everything. She saw the deep frown on his face as he searched her eyes, the crease in his forehead and the undeniable look on pain that he wore. He looked so devastated, and Bethany wanted nothing more than to take his sorrow away. But she didn't know how.

Bethany willed her lips to seal shut, but no amount of willpower could make that happen. Even as she pressed her lips together as tightly as she could, the words slipped out, sounding so bitter and twisted that it made her feel sick. She begged, _pleaded_ with herself to stop talking, to avoid losing him again. But she couldn't. The words kept gushing out, and the guilt and sorrow only grew from there.

"For one thing, what makes you think you can make up stories about my life?" Bethany said, her voice sounding so harsh that it made her cry even more. "About me having powers and you — you're pretending you're a fictional character named Kiel Gnomenfoot."

She shut her mouth tightly again, but she only lasted a few seconds before more words came out. "This is just ridiculous. You've lost your mind! Think about it! You just talked about yourself as if you were fictional —"

"But I am!" Kiel interrupted, his voice slightly hoarse. "You need to calm down and listen to what I'm saying. Before you got separated, me, you, and Owen jumped into books. For _months_ we jumped into books to search for your father. Your fictional self is with him now! She didn't really believe me either, but she definitely wasn't overreacting like you are now. The only way you'll believe me is if I show you. Come on, we need to go to your dad's world and —"

He grabbed her hand and started to pull her away, but even as she tried her best to hold onto his hand, her out-of-control body ripped her hand out of his grasp. If it was possible, Kiel looked even sadder than he had before. She saw everything. The buildup of tears in his eyes and the look of shock on his face. It was ten times worse now, because she couldn't do anything to prevent it from happening.

Tears were running down her own face in a steady stream, yet even as she cried she was still not able to hold her words in. "Kiel, _stop,_ " she heard herself say. _"_ First of all, my dad isn't alive! How would you know otherwise? I was there, and I _saw_ him die! And I'm not going to follow you anywhere, if that's what you think."

"That's not true," Kiel said, shaking his head. "Your father is in the fictional world. I know exactly where he is. Your fictional self is with him, too."

 _He's right! Agree with him!_ Bethany screamed at herself, and even though she already knew it she was still unable to stop the waterfall of unforgiving words that flew out of her mouth. Her entire body shook with each breath. She wanted to run away, or duck-tape her mouth, or turn into a chair that was unable to talk — or at the very least, take everything she said back, but none of those were an option.

"Can you — are you _serious_?" Bethany shot back, her voice somehow perfectly clear in spite of the sob that wracked through her body. "You actually believe that? This is the real world! Please just get that into your head! There are no fictional characters or worlds here! That's extremely low, to try and convince me I'm a half-fictional girl who needs to save the fictional world from some evil No-One —"

"Nobody."

She sniffled, making another weak effort to seal her lips shut but again, it refused to work. "And since I've told you, you know that the only thing I've ever wanted to do is go to a fictional world! You said all of that just to get my hopes up. At first I thought: 'maybe he genuinely wants to be my friend!' But now I know. I knew all along that you were apart of some prank, but I didn't think you'd act so serious about it."

"It isn't a prank. Deep down, you have to know it isn't. I swear on my life that everything I told you is the truth. You don't remember anything, which is why you don't believe me." He looked down at his feet.

"I thought we were friends. Prank or not, it hurts that you'd try to convince me of something that could never happen."

"But it did happen, and it's happening right now!" Kiel said, his eyes clouding. "Just believe me! Please, Bethany. Sometimes, you need to blindly put your faith in something. I need you to believe me. At least come with me, and you'll see —"

 _Ignore what I'm saying! I'll come with you!_ Bethany shouted in her head, trying her best to get the message across to Kiel. She was getting hysterical and there had to be a way to stop herself from saying these horrible things. Unfortunately, there wasn't. Her mouth continued to move as if it had a mind of its own, pouring out the harsh words that she regretted more than anything.

"No, none of this is happening," she said. "I'm done with you making up lies, first about being German, then about this! I need you to stop meddling in my life. You're nothing but an annoying boy who makes up lies to try to get me to be your friend, when you could be friends with anyone else! You've embarrassed me _twice_ in class! You're the reason I overthink all the time and the reason my mind is always a mess!"

"You don't mean it," Kiel whispered in a choked voice, which made Bethany cry harder. "You don't _really_ hate me. You're just angry."

 _Please, don't say it_ , Bethany thought desperately, so upset that it was hard to think. _You're going to lose him. Please, please—_

"I'm not just angry. I meant exactly what I said. And we're not even friends. So I don't know why you're making fun of my love for books this way. It's rude, especially coming from you. You have no right to get my hopes up. I'm sorry Kiel, but it's the truth. Please, just . . . leave me alone."

The silence that followed was deafening, and Bethany squeezed her eyes shut for a few seconds, her heart twisting more painfully than she ever could've imagined. She felt like she'd been punched over and over again. Tears coated her cheeks, but she made no effort to wipe them away. Everything was ruined. Again.

When she opened her eyes, she looked directly at Kiel, who wore an expression that she'd never forget. He looked raw and lost and just as broken as she felt. He was crying, too. And it shattered every piece of her heart. Up until that moment, she'd never seen him cry before. She wished it'd stayed that way. Seeing him upset was like the worst kind of pain.

"Are you going to say anything?" she asked, and the shakiness in her voice finally seemed related to how she was truly feeling. She didn't understand how, despite everything, he was still able to give her a smile, even if it was a forced one.

"I understand," Kiel said weakly, making an effort to wipe his eyes. "I figured that maybe I annoyed you a little, but I never thought you would . . . _hate_ me. I'll stop talking to you from now on. Sorry for telling you what was real. I'll leave you alone."

"Don't go," Bethany tried to whisper, desperation building inside of her. But the words that she wanted to say wouldn't come, and she was only able to watch as he turned his back on her and crossed the street. She blinked a few times, her mouth hanging open as more tears fell down her face.

No, she _couldn't_ lose him like this again. Fueled by determination, Bethany set her legs into motion. It was the first time that she was able to run after him; even in her dreams she hadn't been able to. She sprinted across the street, just barely avoiding the moving cars.

"Ki— Kiel! WAIT!" Bethany yelled, her voice hoarse. A car beeped loudly at her, and she turned too late to see it coming towards her at a fast pace. Not knowing what else to do, Bethany dove for the sidewalk, landing hard on the ground. She grunted in pain but quickly picked herself up again, scrambling to follow the boy.

"Kiel!" Bethany shouted again, only a few feet away from him now. Her foot landed in a huge pile of snow, and she had to yank it back out with some effort. Since she didn't have a coat, she was freezing but didn't dare let that stop her. Kiel was definitely more important to her than a coat.

She finally came to a stop right behind him, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him towards her. She was breathless, and the tears had frozen on her cheeks. She wiped them away, her teeth chattering. "K-Kiel."

At her touch, Kiel turned his head and looked at her. Fully looked at her. But the expression on his face quickly changed to one that she'd never seen on him before. He was staring at her with disgust. It made her stomach twist into knots.

"Kiel . . . wait . . . I'm so sorry, I—"

"You're a horrible friend," he said abruptly, his eyebrows furrowed.

"I didn't mean it," Bethany whispered, tentatively walking closer to him. She reached a hand out to touch the side of his face, but he smacked her hand away. She flinched.

"You know what? I hate _you_ , Bethany Sanderson," he spat. "I understand now that I don't want you in my life. I could care less about you. Do you know why? Because you're horrible and boring and selfish—"

"What?" She was practically stumbling over her own feet as she backed away from him. She sniffled. "Please don't say that."

Kiel glared at her. "I want nothing to do with you. You push _everyone_ away. You pushed _me_ away!"

"I had to! I was forced to say that! I didn't _mean_ it!"

He raised his eyebrows. "It sounded exactly like you meant it."

"But I _didn't_."

"No." He shook his head. "No, you did, Bethany. And that's fine. Just don't come near me again, okay?"

She took a shuddering breath, trying to hold back more tears. "No, no, I can't—"

"Do you have anything to say for yourself, anything that _won't_ make me want to get away from you?" Kiel interrupted, narrowing his eyes.

Bethany stared at him, at a loss for words. Her throat was so tight, and she grappled for something to say. The time unfortunately didn't come, because he turned around and walked away from her. Knowing better, she held herself back from running after him again, even though she wanted to.

He got farther and farther away until he disappeared behind a house, gone forever. She hugged herself tightly, her eyes drifting to the ground in defeat. A strange thought occurred to her as she begrudgingly walked away from Kiel, allowing the tears to fall out.

He hadn't called her Beth.

Sighing, Bethany rubbed her eyes and set off in the direction of home. She wasn't even sure if she was actually going the right way, but in that moment it didn't matter. All she could think about was how she'd lost Kiel _again_ , just like she'd lost her father. She kept making all of these mistakes, and it made her exhausted. When would it end?

"Bethany!" a familiar voice called with a hint of anguish, and Bethany felt goosebumps prickle her skin. No, not someone else! This was too much to deal with, and she felt so overwhelmed that she had trouble sucking in air. What was going on now?

The person called her name again, so Bethany started to run, trying to follow the voice. She didn't think she'd ever run so fast as she did in that moment. The desperation to ensure that her friend was safe propelled her legs forward. The frigid wind was in her face, blowing her long hair behind her.

Each step felt like lifting a ton of bricks, and Bethany wasn't sure if it was only from the emotional exhaustion she was feeling. But she didn't slow down, not once. How could she? Her mind flashed with images of all the bad things that could be happening to her distressed friend. If only she could be faster . . .

"I'm — I'm coming!" Bethany shouted. " _I'm coming_!"

She sprinted down the sidewalk, her sneakers soundly pounding against the hard surface. The snow seemed to grow heavier from there, and it almost blinded her from seeing what was in front of her. Several times she had to shield her eyes with her hand or wipe the snowflakes from her eyelashes. The air felt colder than ever, chilling her entire body.

As the person's calls grew more frantic, she did too. She tried the best she could to locate the voice, but with the snowfall it was hard to tell if she was going the right way. And she _had_ to be going the right way, or else it'd be too late. Her heart was beating erratically in her chest, but seemed to stop completely when she finally saw the person — the girl — standing before her.

"Gwen?" Bethany said, her voice barely a whisper. She came to a stop, her chest heaving from all of the running. She had to wipe her eyes again, which had become watery. She wasn't sure if it was from the sting of the cold wind in her face this time or the leftover tears from seeing Kiel just minutes before. It was hard to tell.

Without saying a word, Gwen smiled. She was dressed in her usual EarthGirl outfit, which for some reason seemed strange to Bethany but she shook off the weird feeling. Just like when she saw Kiel, comfort washed over Bethany at the sight of Gwen. Her smile never failed to make Bethany feel better, despite the rollercoaster of emotions she'd just gone through.

"Are you okay?" Bethany asked in a shaky voice, looking her over. Gwen didn't seem harmed or scared in any way, which made her wonder why the girl's shouts had been so insistent. Why had it seemed like Gwen was in danger?

"Of course I am!" Gwen told her. "There's actually something that I want to talk to you about." She sat down on a bench that was positioned next to the sidewalk and motioned for Bethany to do the same.

It struck Bethany as odd that Gwen, along with Kiel, hadn't even noticed that she'd been upset. Even though she'd wiped her tears away the best she could, Gwen still would've been able to notice. Normally, they would've comforted her right away if that was the case. It bothered and confused her that they hadn't, but she was too emotional to focus on how strange this entire situation was.

"What is it?" Bethany asked tentatively, sitting down beside the other girl.

Gwen stared at her for a few seconds, chewing on the inside of her cheek. Then, she shrugged. "I guess I'll just come right out and say it. I'm sorry, but . . . I don't think having you as a friend has been a good influence on me. I appreciate everything you've done for me in the past, but I just don't want to be friends anymore."

Bethany's mouth dropped open. Her heart spiraled to the floor. She hadn't been expecting her to say that at all. It felt like her day had just gotten much worse, if it was possible. "W-What?"

"I don't want to be friends anymore," Gwen repeated, looking a bit guilty. She looked down. "I'm really sorry, Bethany. I just can't be around you anymore."

Why was she saying that? Bethany stared at her with huge eyes, her breathing unsteady. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. Gwen, one of her greatest and most supportive friends, who was always positive and welcoming, had said that she didn't want to be friends with Bethany anymore? Had Bethany heard that right?

"I-I don't understand," Bethany whispered, trying to keep her voice even. "Did I do something wrong? You — why would you _say_ that?"

"I think that I need friends who are more like me, from my world and planet. I would rather be having fun, and well . . . going on all of these quests is bumming me out."

Bethany couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her heart was sinking lower and lower. "But I thought you loved the quests we go on."

"I _did_ , yes. But now I need more positivity in my life. I have to face so many fights and violence every time I'm with you, and I would rather be somewhere that I feel safe. I'm sorry, you just haven't been the best influence on me. And that way, I won't need to be thrown into violence all of the time!" She smiled. "You get it, don't you?"

Bethany didn't get it. Not one part of her did. How could this be happening? This _couldn't_ be happening! She could never lose Gwen, but to know that Gwen didn't want to be around her? It was like a punch in the stomach.

"You don't feel _safe_ around me?"

Gwen wordlessly shook her head, giving her a slightly pitying look even as she smiled. She reached over to pat Bethany on the hand, then rose from the bench. "Bye, Bethany. Again, sorry for all of that. But wow, it definitely feels like a relief to say it out loud!"

Before Bethany could stop her, Gwen took off into the air, flying straight up until she disappeared into the clouds. Bethany stared at the sky, wishing with all of her might that Gwen would come back. But she never did. Bethany let out a long sigh. She'd lost another friend, another person that was so important to her that life seemed less complete than before.

"Bye, Gwen," Bethany whispered.

Suddenly, the smell of smoke to wafted into her nose. At first, Bethany thought she must've just been imagining it. But the smell was undeniably strong, and she could practically feel the heat radiating onto her back, causing her skin to feel a slight degree warmer. As bad as things were, it seemed that life had yet another challenge to throw at her.

Despite really not wanting to, Bethany forced herself to turn around, only for her eyes to widen in horror. She slapped a hand over her mouth. Someone had set Owen's mother's library on fire! The place that was her safe haven for so many years. The library she'd gone to for as long as she could remember, where she'd taken books to jump into millions of times.

It was where she'd gone to every day after school with Owen and Kiel, and when Kiel had gone back to the fictional world, Owen had remained by her side each time they went to the library together. There were so many unforgettable memories in that place, so seeing it ablaze was horrifying. Who could've done this?

Filled with dread, Bethany broke out into a run. It was likely that her best friend, Owen, was in that library, working for his afternoon shift. What if he was in danger? If she was thinking logically, then the library had both a front and back door, which meant that he could've gotten out just fine.

But Bethany was far from thinking logically. She couldn't help but think of every worst possible scenario, and all of the bad things that could be happening to her best friend. Of the bad things, there were plenty of options to choose from. The good scenarios were nonexistent. The assumption that Owen would be okay could be very wrong, Bethany knew.

The wooden shelves and the thousands of books would only fuel the fire, making it grow. If Owen was in there, then there was a chance that the fire was too huge to simply escape from. And if entrances to the library were blocked, then there was definitely no way he'd have gotten out of there. Panic filled her. He'd be trapped!

She reached the library within seconds, feeling the temperature growing hotter and hotter as she got closer. The building was almost entirely engulfed in flames. The entrance to the library was closed, so she frantically pushed on the door, trying to open it. It didn't budge. She pounded her fists against it, using all of her strength to try getting the door to open.

"Owen!" Bethany yelled desperately. " _Owen_! Where are you?!"

Seeing as the door was officially stuck, she backed away quickly, only to transform into an oversized bowling ball and smash through the door. She rolled inside and transformed back to her normal self before she got too far into the building. There was dark smoke everywhere and she could barely make out thousands of books that were encased in the flames.

For a moment, Bethany just stood there, coughing and gasping as she stared at her favorite library. She was _horrified_ , but she could only imagine that her horror was nothing compared to Owen's. This was his favorite place, too. No, this was his life. He'd worked at the checkout area every day after school, and soon there'd be nothing left of it.

All of the sudden, the ceiling shook. Bethany has just enough time to leap back before a chunk of it fell right where she'd been standing. She felt a small surge of relief that she hadn't been hit by it, but reminded herself not to waste any more time. She turned on her heel and stumbled further into the library, coughing violently as she called Owen's name.

She pulled the front of her shirt over her mouth, but it did little to make her breathing easier. There was almost no oxygen at all. She could feel the flames dancing closer and closer to her skin. Her body felt weaker with each step but she forced herself to keep going.

She had to find Owen before it was too late. If she could do that, he'd be okay.

"Owen," Bethany croaked, another fit of coughs consuming her. Hot tears stung her eyes. She felt so weak that she didn't have the strength to shout anymore. It was hard enough to breathe, since her lungs felt like they were burning.

She nearly collapsed in her efforts to get to the back of the library, which was the only place left to look. The walls creaked and groaned ominously, looking like they'd fall apart at any moment. She felt more panicked by the second as she looked everywhere she could for Owen. With the smoke filling the room, it was becoming very hard to see.

As she finally neared the children's section, where the flames had lessened, Bethany spotted something lying on the ground. With renewed determination, she weakly pushed herself forward, even as her legs nearly gave out. And once she saw what that something was, her legs _did_ give out.

She collapsed to the ground, choking on air. Still holding her shirt over her mouth, Bethany slowly crawled towards Owen. Her lungs felt worse than ever, to the point where she was sure that she'd faint. As soon as she reached him, she latched onto his wrist like a port in a storm.

"Owen," Bethany whispered, her voice incredibly strained. She coughed several times again and held his wrist tighter. To her horror, his eyes were closed. She doubted he was even breathing. She weakly slapped a hand on his arm, trying to rouse him.

"Wake . . . up!" she said, coughing harder. Her brain felt so foggy that it was just as hard to think. Hot tears stung her eyes as she desperately tried searching for a pulse, pressing her fingers against every part of his wrist. It made her feel even more panicked when she was given the worst news: there _was_ no pulse.

No.

 _No!_

"Wake up . . ." Bethany rasped, slapping a hand against his chest with what little strength she had left. As she collapsed at his side, too exhausted to stay conscious any longer, she felt numb. She didn't feel the motivation or the strength to push herself to her feet. There was nothing left for her to fight for.

It was so exhausting, Bethany realized, to lose everyone she cared about. She was tired of fighting, trying to hold onto those she loved when all they did was slip out of her grasp. She felt numb and her lungs ached and she'd already become accustomed to the bitter tears in the back of her throat. She didn't know what there was left to keep fighting for.

The people she loved were gone.

* * *

" _The end of the day, I'm helpless. Can you keep me close? Can you love me most?"_


End file.
